What I Knew I Always Wanted
by NALEY23alwaysforever
Summary: It's been five years since the Haley James, Nathan Scott, Lucas Scott, Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis had been back to Tree Hill. Now, a reunion brings them all back home, and to each other. NALEY. LEYTON. BRULIAN. Other characters will be there as well :) Requested story from naley12
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey Lovely Readers! So, this is a new story that was requested by Naley12. The storyline will not be like it was in the show. Nathan, Haley, Brooke, Peyton and Lucas were all best friends in high school. The story picks up five years after high school with everyone coming back to Tree Hill. Pairings will be Naley, with Brulian and Leyton! oh, and as requested this story will later become M rated.**

 **Enjoy!**

*April, 2012*

Haley James sat on the bus, fiddling with her hands in her lap as she waited for her stop. She had been on the bus for about three hours, opting to fly from Chicago to the North Carolina Airport and then taking a bus to Tree Hill. She hadn't been back in five years, not since she graduated high school. She had graduated college completing a double major of English Lit. and Teaching, and completing a masters degree for her educational teaching degree.

She hadn't seen of heard from Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, Lucas Scott or Nathan Scott for the better half of five years. They had all drifted and lost touch. She smiled as she saw the magazine next to her. On the cover, were both Brooke and Nathan at a charity event in Los Angeles. Brooke had designed and built the company that she had started when they were in high school, Clothes over Bros. And Nathan had made his break in basketball, now playing for the LA Lakers for the past three years.

When she had last spoken to Brooke, over six months ago, she had been dating her long-term boyfriend Julian Baker for two years, and she suspected Julian would be popping the question sometime soon. From what Brooke had heard, Peyton and Lucas were living happily in Durham. After they had eloped when in Paris on break their first year of college, Peyton and Lucas had both finished their degree at Duke University along with Nathan. Lucas was now a famous author working on his fourth novel, having been nominated for a critic's literature award for his first published novel, _An Unkindness of Ravens_ , which was based on the true events from his, Haley, Nathan, Brooke and Peyton's lives through high school. Peyton was in the process of building her independent label, _Red Bedroom Records,_ with the help of her business partner and old high school friend, Jake Jagielski and Lucas and Peyton were now trying for a baby.

Haley was happy that all her friends had gotten their dreams. She just wished she didn't feel so behind. But that's why she was here, back in Tree Hill. Her old Principal, Mr. Jacob Turner, was looking for a new English teacher, and after running into Mrs. James in the grocery store, had found out that Haley was looking for a teaching position. She was hoping that this would be a good opportunity for her.

She had loved Chicago, truly she did. But it wasn't for her. She missed her home. She missed sitting on the old picnic table by the rivercourt and staring out into the Cape Fear River, and walking along the docks as the autumn breeze passed gently by. Chicago was a real tough bitch, and while she did lover her, she missed the warm and comforting embrace of Tree Hill.

She stared at the envelope in her hands, pulling out the shiny pink-white paper and re-reading the words yet again.

* * *

Nathan Scott sighed as he sat next to his old friend, downing the scotch on the rocks the air hostess has just given him.

"Jeez Nate, pace yourself" Brooke Davis chuckled as she sat next to her friend "We're only an hour into the trip"

"I can't believe I agreed to this" he mumbled to himself

"You'll enjoy it, everyone will be so excited to see you Mr. Hot-Shot-NBA-Star"

"You know as well as I do, it's never as glamorous as people think" Nathan chuckled as he signalled the hostess for another drink "Do you think she'll be there?"

Brooke smiled "Last I talked to her, she was planning on it"

"Okay then" Nathan said blowing out a breath

"Man he really is nervous about this" Julian chuckled leaning forward to look past his girlfriend "And who are we talking about coming to this thing?"

Nathan smiled as she came to his mind.

* * *

"Victoria, we've talked about this! I am not selling the line!" Brooke yelled through the phone. She, Nathan and Julian had just landed in North Carolina and were waiting for their private town car to arrive.

 _"You're being unreasonable dear. This is best for business"_ Victoria dismissed her daughter

"It's MY company. And we're doing just fine. Better than fine!" Brooke exclaimed

 _"You've never made a men's line Brooke -"_

"That's kind of the whole point Mother" She bit out

 _"You don't need to concern yourself with silly little ventures like that. You need to stay focused on the main lines. Couture, lingerie, the summer collection! Those are the money-makers" Victoria tried to reason_

"And you're telling me you don't think I can run a men's line?" Brooke said

 _"Sweetheart, you've never had that good a head for business" Victoria replied_

"That's funny, since it's my head for business that not only launched this company those many years ago when I was barely 18, but I do recall that MY business head and MY company are the reason you can afford your condos, trips to Greece, Milan, Spain. Oh and let's not forget the botox-"

 _"Fine!" Victoria snapped "Do what you want. It's your company dear"_

Brooke smirked "Then I will tell you this once more. I am not selling MY mens line. Goodbye Victoria" She said before ending the call.

Brooke sighed as she felt Julian wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her into his side "What did she want now?"

Brooke shrugged "Same as the last few weeks" she chuckled sadly "Why can't she just ever be a normal mother?"

"I'm sorry baby" Julian said kissing her temple

Brooke closed her eyes for a moment, taking a breath before turning in Julian's arms and smiling up at him "Don't be. I have you, and that's all I'll ever need"

"You'll always have me" Julian said leaning down to kiss her

"Come on lovebirds!" Nathan shouted from the car which had just arrived, breaking the two apart.

Brooke chuckled as she took Julian's hand and walked towards the town car.

* * *

"I cannot believe you Lucas Scott!" Peyton Sawyer-Scott yelled as she walked through the door, slamming it behind her.

Lucas held his hand out to stop the door from whacking him in the face as he walked behind his very angry wife through the house, following her into the kitchen as she pulled out the half empty bottle of wine from the fridge, pouring herself a glass and taking a large gulp. She sighed in relief as she felt the alcohol course through her body.

"Peyton-" Lucas started as he walked towards her

"Don't" She said putting up her hand to stop him. She could see the sadness in his eyes and sighed "I can't believe you told her"

"It just happened, I-"

"well maybe you shouldn't let it happen then!" Peyton snapped "And then the fact that she came up to me to try and discuss it!? Like she's all of a sudden my friend!?" Peyton ranted

"She was just worried Peyt" Lucas sighed in frustration

"You and I both know her concern isn't for me" She glared "And for future reference, I would prefer you not tell your love-struck-editor out private business" she stated before walking towards the staircase and up to their bedroom

"We're just friends Peyton!" Lucas yelled as he followed her

"Well your _friend_ doesn't need to know that I can't have kids now does she!?" Peyton screamed before slamming their bedroom door shut and dropping to the floor, her back leaning against the door in case Lucas somehow managed to get past the lock. She could hear him pleading softly with her to let him in, to talk this through with him, but she didn't want to. Not right now.  
She took a few deep breaths, willing the tears to stay at bay, before standing up and packing her clothes into her suitcase and placing it next to Lucas' at the foot of their bed. She couldn't wait until they were in Tree Hill, She was ready to be back home.

* * *

 _Dear Miss James,_

 _We are pleased to invite you to the five-year high school reunion for the class of 2007!_

 _Where: Tree Hill High School Gymnasium_

 _Date: April 12th, 2012  
Starting Time: 12:00pm  
Food and beverages will be provided, as well as an open bar._

 _We hope to see you there!_

 _Bevan Mirsky: Tree Hill High P &C President._

* * *

 **A/N: So, I know that was a bit of a weird start but it'll all pick up in the following chapters. As much as I wanted everyone to be all sunshine an rainbows, they've all got to have a little drama to fix don't they!? For those Leyton fans waiting for a baby, don't worry Peyton's fertility comments and everything else will be explained very soon ...**

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of 'What I Knew I Always Wanted' !  
Please leave me a review, let me know what you thought and follow and favourite!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Firstly, thanks for everyone who reviewed! I'm so psyched you guys are all taking an interest in this story! As I said, this is a story that Naley12 requested for me to write and I'm really excited about it, just a warning that the rating will change to M later on :) It is a Naley story but I will try to make sure I have both Brulian and Leyton in there most chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

Lucas sighed as he glanced over at his wife. They had been on the road for an hour and she hadn't said a word, choosing to let the radio fill the void. They were on their way to get Jake and Jenny from his their house before they head to Tree Hill. Lucas reached over and took Peyton's hand in his, entwining their fingers and placing their joined hands on his lap. Peyton smiled before bringing her other hand to rest on the top of their joined ones.

"I'm sorry" Lucas said softly "I shouldn't have told her anything. I swear it wasn't my intention, it just came out"

"I know" Peyton whispered "I just don't trust her Lucas. She likes you"

"She can like me, but it doesn't mean that the feelings are returned" Lucas said, his eyes glancing between Peyton and the road "I love you Peyton Sawyer"

"It's Scott. Peyton Sawyer-Scott" Peyton smiled glancing over at him, leaning over the middle console to kiss his cheek "And I love you too"

Lucas smiled as Peyton sat back in to the seat, squeezing his hand as they continued to drive.

"You know what you said isn't true right?" Lucas said after a few minutes. Seeing Peyton's confused face he continued "We don't know that you can't have kids"

"Lucas-"

"We don't know Peyton. We've been trying for six months. Even the doctor said that's too short an amount of time to determine anything. We've just got to have faith okay? No matter what, I will give you a baby Peyton"

Peyton smiled and nodded, settling back into the now comforting silence of their car. Her fears however, didn't settle completely.

* * *

"And this" Brooke said as she opened the door "is Karen's Cafe"

Julian smiled "This is where it all happened huh?"

"This is where it all happened"

Julian wrapped one arms around Brooke's waist as Brooke's hands slid into the back pocket of his jeans as they walked up to the counter.

"Hi, welcome to Karen's Cafe. What can I get for you?" An obviously flustered Karen Scott said, not looking up from the paper and note pad she was holding in her hand

"I'll take the Brooke Davis special" Brooke said, chuckling as she noticed Karen freeze. She looked up and her jaw dropped

"Oh my god!" Karen yelled as she ran around the counter to hug Brooke "And here I thought hell would freeze over before you came back to Tree Hill" Karen chuckled

"I'm so sorry it took me so long" Brooke smiled sadly "Work has been crazy"

"Believe me, I understand that" Karen smiled looking around, noticing the man standing next to Brooke "And who might this be?"

Brooke looked to her side, realising that she hadn't introduced her boyfriend yet "Sorry! Karen, this is Julian my boyfriend. Julian, this is Karen. The closest thing I've ever had to a mother"

"It's an honour to meet you Mrs Scott. Brooke's told me a lot about you" Julian said putting his hand out.

Karen, however ignored his hand, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug "a man who can make Brooke Davis this happy gets a hug from me, not a handshake" Karen exclaimed as Julian chuckled.

"So, Brooke Davis special?" Karen asked pulling away from Julian, leading them to a booth where they sat down.

"Brooke Davis Special" Brooke confirmed "One for Julian too?"

"And what if I want something else?" Julian teased

"You don't come to Karen's Cafe for the first time, with Brooke Davis, and not get a Brooke Davis Special"

"Ok" Julian smiled kissing her cheek as Brooke snuggled into him, Julian wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she did. Karen smiled as she watched the two, Brooke had finally found the one man she wanted to be with, and Karen was so happy.

* * *

Haley smiled as she stood outside the door of Karen's Cafe. She had reached Tree Hill late last night, and after a long reunion with her mother and father, had checked into her hotel - much to the displeasure of Lydia James, who would prefer her baby girl stay at home with her - and had spent the early morning down at the docks, reminiscing.

She now stood in front of the cafe, her stomach growling, as she tried to build up enough nerve to go in. Why was she so nervous? Karen loved her, she had considered her to be as much her child as Lucas was. The Scott and James households had grown up extremely close. Lydia and Karen were still best friends to this day.

"You watching the paint dry or something?" Haley turned around at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Keith" she smiled and hugged the man "How have you been?"

"We've missed you" Keith said pulling away from her "You planning on coming inside?" He said offering her arm.

Haley nodded and looped her arms through his as they walked in. Karen looked up and, for the second time today, her jaw almost hit the floor.

"Look what the cat dragged in" Keith chuckled as Karen ran up to Haley.

"Two foster-children in one day!" Karen joked hugging Haley "I'm so happy to see you sweetheart"

"Me too Karen" Haley said as realisation hit "Wait. What do you mean _two_ foster-children?"

"Well, Well. Tutor girl" Haley looked to her left to see Brooke Davis sitting a few feet away. Haley ran over to her friend and Brooke got up to hug her, the two squealing in happiness.

"I haven't seen you in so long! How's Chicago" Brooke asked sitting back down as Haley sat across from her and Julian, quickly introducing themselves to one another.

"It's okay. I might be making a move back to Tree Hill though" Haley said "It depends on how a few things pan out"

"I can't believe it's already been five years since we graduated" Brooke stated

"It feels like a lifetime ago" Haley agreed

"You know, Nathan and I were talking about you just the other day" Brooke smirked

Haley felt her cheeks flush at the mention of Nathan Scott "Really? How is he?" She tried her best to sound neutral when responding.

"He's good. He's coming for the reunion you know?"

Haley nodded as Karen placed Brooke and Julian's food down in front of them

"Ah the Brooke Davis Special" Haley smiled knowingly

"Fries, double cheeseburger, and a thickshake. That's your special?" Julian quirked an eyebrow

"Yep. I lived on this in high school" She said dipping a handful of fries into her thickshake before biting into them

Julian made a face at her actions "That's nasty Brooke"

"Actually it tastes really good" Haley laughed remembering the first time she tried it.

The three stayed and talked for a few more hours before parting ways. Haley walked back to her hotel room and flopped down on her bed, her hands resting on her stomach in an attempt to quell the butterflies that were fluttering around in her stomach.

She would be seeing Nathan Scott tomorrow, for the first time in five years.

 **A/N: Not sure about the ending but I hope you all liked it**

 **Please review!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	3. Chapter 3

What I Knew I Always Wanted Ch 3

 **A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all the lovely reviews you've been leaving, I'm so glad you're enjoying this story so far. I'm really excited for what I have planned next, and I hope you guys are as well :)**

 **Enjoy!**

Lucas smiled as he watched Peyton laugh at something Brooke had just said. She was absolutely radiant; he couldn't remember her ever being this happy in the last few months. He knew that things had been a little tense since Lindsay had been assigned to work with him, but he had hoped that by getting away and coming to Tree Hill things would improve for them.

"Well it's true" Lucas spun around at the familiar voice "I'm still the better looking Scott"

Lucas rolled his eyes at his brother "You wish"

"I know" Nathan smirked as he walked towards Lucas, wrapping his arms around his younger brother in a hug "I've missed you man. You've really got to come to a game next time you're in New York"

"I've missed you too little brother" Lucas smiled as they let go of each other.

"So" Nathan started looking around "Is everyone here?"

Lucas smirked as he took in Nathan's nervous stance "I'm sure Haley's around here somewhere"

"What? I- I don't" Nathan stammered

"Please. You've been in love with Haley James since we were fourteen years old" Lucas chuckled

"Shut up Luke" Nathan muttered, feeling annoyed and embarrassed at his brother's light teasing.

"I'm sure she'll show up Nate, just relax" Lucas patted Nathan on the back, before leading them both over to Brooke and Peyton.

"Peyton Sawyer" Nathan grinned as he saw the blonde woman

"Oh shit" Peyton smirked turning around "I didn't think they'd let you back in this place"

Nathan shrugged "I am a bit of a Tree Hill legend in case you forgot"

"I remember you also being the biggest ass hat in this place" Peyton retorted "You drove a school bus down the train line"

"In my defence, you dared me to" Nathan said pointing to the other woman

"I was drunk!" Brooke exclaimed as they all laughed

"I can't believe how much everyone has changed" Lucas said after a few minutes

Peyton pointed over at Tim who was sitting with Bevin and their two-year-old son "And then there's some that haven't changed at all. Can you believe Nathan actually named his son Nathan?"

Nathan groaned "Don't remind me. I mean I'm flattered and all, I just didn't realise he was still this … invested in our friendship"

"Oh admit it, you missed that big lug" The group all turned at the sound of the voice "Miss me?"

"Tutor girl!" Brooke exclaimed running the few feet towards her best friend, Peyton following behind as they practically tackled Haley in a hug.

"Hi Tigger" Haley laughed "Mrs. Broody" Peyton stuck her tongue out at her friend as she hugged her again.

Haley smiled as she watched her friends all move towards her, embracing Lucas next as he came to greet her. They all talked for a few moments before Haley realised that Nathan was still standing behind them. She smiled and let go of Lucas, moving towards her friend,

"Hey Nathan" She smiled brightly

"Hales" Nathan smiled shyly as he looked down at her.

She had grown so much since he had last saw her. She had gained a few centimetres in height, her hair had changed from auburn to a dirty blonde colour, her body had developed a lot more – and Nathan was having a hard time keeping his eyes at her face – and she had switched out her ripped, ratty jeans, converse and polo combo for an elegant fitted black knee length dress. But even with all those changes, Nathan still thought she was as beautiful as she had been that first day that he met her.

He quickly stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Haley's waist and lifting her up in a hug, Haley's arms tightening around his shoulders and interlocking behind his neck at the sudden movement.

"I've missed you"

Haley smiled to herself "I've missed you too Nathan"

They were pulled apart by Brooke grasping Haley's arm and pulling her with her, announcing they needed to get some drinks. Haley smiled before pulling away and walking over to the bar with Brooke and Peyton. Nathan and Lucas watched the three girls walk away, and Nathan groaned as he watched Haley walk, her hips elegantly swaying from side to side.

"Hey" Lucas whacked his brother's chest "Stop looking at her ass"

Nathan shut his eyes, his head hanging down as he tried to calm himself. This reunion would be interesting.

LINEBREAK

"So, how have you been?" Haley asked Peyton. Brooke had left the two to introduce Julian around to some of her other friends in their year.

Peyton smiled stiffly "I'm okay"

"How about you try telling me the truth?" Haley raised an eyebrow.

"you know, I really don't get the point of a five year reunion. I thought high school reunions were supposed to be ten year?" Peyton said looking at her drink.

"Bevin thought ten years was too long and that no one would remember high school then so she wanted to make it sooner, you know how she is. and you didn't answer my question" Haley looked at her pointedly

"Things are ok, really. Lucas and I have just…hit a rough patch" Peyton spoke sadly, her voice soft "Things have been really tense since he got his new editor"

"Lindsey?" Haley clarified "You don't think Lucas would do anything with Lindsey do you?"

Peyton nodded "I know he wouldn't. But she's attracted too him, and Lucas thinks I'm acting like some insanely jealous wife. And she's acting like she's his best friend, and then he's telling her all our private business!" Haley could see Peyton was getting worked up over the situation.

"What kind of business?" Haley asked.

She watched as Peyton's eyes glistened over "We've been having trouble trying to get pregnant. And Lindsey shows up in my office one day with all these pamphlets on fertility issues. She told me that it was perfectly acceptable for people to not be able to have kids and that I shouldn't feel like any less of a wife"

Haley sighed as Peyton's tears threatened to bubble over the surface. She wrapped her arms around her friend in a warm embrace.

"Have you told Lucas?"

"Sort of" Peyton shrugged

Haley pulled away and narrowed her eyes "Peyton. You have to tell him!"

Peyton shook her head "He's worked so hard on getting his novel published Hales. I can't do that to him"

"You really need to hun" Peyton nodded her head softly as she hugged Haley again

"I'm really glad you're back home Haley"

"Me too" Haley smiled.

 **A/N: So, I know this was kind of short but I've got a lot planned for Naley next chapter, I'm really excited for it!**

 **Please review and let me know what you thought. I know it's not too naley-centric but next chapter will be I promise!**

 **Have a good week everyone!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone, I tried to get this up asap but I didn't want to compromise on how this story would play out. I got a bit stuck with writing this so I hope you like it**

 **Enjoy!**

"So, what have you been up to these past five years?" Nathan asked as he walked down the corridor.

The reunion had finished an hour ago, and Nathan and Haley had decided

Haley shrugged next to him "Not much really. I was in Chicago for college, so that was my main focus. I finished my degree a year early and did my masters for my teaching degree, and now I'm back here" she chuckled softly  
"I guess I'm not really that interesting"

"You've always been interesting to me" Haley blushed at Nathan's statement.

"Well, how about you? You're the big, famous, NBA basketball star" Haley nudged his shoulder with her own "That's got to be interesting"

Nathan scratched the back of his neck subconsciously "Yeah, it's pretty cool I guess"

"I guess?" Haley raised an eyebrow "Wasn't this your dream Nathan Scott?"

Nathan smiled "Basketball was, _is_ , still my dream. But it's a bit lonely at times"

"I would've thought all the booze and girls would keep you company" Haley smirked

"It gets kinda boring after a while. I don't know, guess I'd just prefer to have someone to come home to every night" Nathan blushed slightly as he saw Haley looking at him in surprise.

They were silent for a few moments as they continued to walk. Nathan looked up and laughed as he saw the door to the gymnasium, seeing Haley's wide eyes and shaking head, he grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door with him.

Haley smiled as Nathan ran ahead, grabbing a ball of the rack and taking a shot from the three-point line. Haley couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up as Nathan's button-up untucked slightly from his jeans, flashing a glimpse of his toned chest and definitive 'v' line. She subconsciously licked her lips. Nathan had definitely gotten even more good-looking since they were eighteen, all that basketball training had done him _extremely_ well.

"Is you shot still as bad as freshman year?" Nathan smirked as he looked at her once more. Haley glared at him as he threw the ball at her, biting her lip as she tried not to laugh at the memory of Nathan trying to teach her to shoot a basketball.

...

 _Nathan walked from his car as he watched Haley facing the basketball hoop on the Rivercourt. He had to hold in a laugh as Haley stuck her elbows out and threw the ball in the air, a 'jump' - if you could call it that - as she threw. Nathan watched as Haley dropped to the floor, hitting the floor with her palms in frustration as the ball came down before it was anywhere near the hoop._

 _"Was that your jump shot?" Haley shot up and looked at Nathan in surprise "Because if that was your jump shot, I don't think I can be friends with you anymore"_

 _"What are you doing here?" Haley asked_

 _"Lucas said you needed some help. Something about a PE grade"_

 _"Yeah, you can't be here right now" Haley replied_ _  
_

 _"Why not?" Nathan frowned_

 _Haley looked down at the ground "Because I look stupid" she mumbled_

 _"You realise I've seen you in that crochet poncho thingy you wear, right?" Nathan chuckled_

 _"Come on! This is embarrassing! I want you to think I'm...Not embarrassing"_

 _Nathan laughed "Haley I've seen you fall off a bed while tying your hair up. Trust me, you don't embarrass me anymore"_

 _"Oh yeah?" Haley scoffed, picking up the ball and turning around to take another shot, the ball falling not a metre in front of her feet_

 _"Ok" Nathan nodded "That was a little embarrassing"_

 _"I can't do this" Haley groaned_

 _"Yes you can Hales, you just need to focus" Nathan said placing his hands on her hips._

 _Nathan moved one hand down to Haley legs and tapped her right knee, getting Haley to move her leg over "You've got to line your feet with your shoulders, hands making a 'W' on the ball" Nathan continued to explain and direct Haley's arms, legs, hips, until she was standing perfectly._

 _Nathan rested his hands on her hips again, and leaned in, his lips right up against her left ear "Now just breathe. And shoot"_

 _Haley felt herself stiffen as she felt Nathan's hands on her hips, his breath against her ear. She snapped out of it, and quickly chucked the ball in the air. They both watched as the ball hit the rim, debating on which way to go over the edge. Both teens held their breath as they watched the ball slowly sink into the net._

 _"I did it?" Haley gasped, turning in Nathan's arms "I did it!"_

 _Nathan wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up and running around the court with Haley sitting on his shoulder as he cheered her. Haley's giggles subsided as Nathan put her down, her body sliding against his._

 _"I-" Haley stuttered "Thank you, Nathan"_

 _Nathan swallowed the lump he felt in his throat, his eyes going between her mouth and her eyes, before breathlessly whispering "You're welcome"_

...

"Come on James" Nathan smiled "I won't even guard you"

"How chivalrous" Haley deadpanned. She walked to the three-point line, taking a deep breath as she lined up her feet with her shoulders, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks as she felt her dress ride up her thighs.

She took a deep breath and brought the ball below her knees, watching Nathan's slightly confused look, and did a granny shot. She smiled proudly as the ball went into the room, _'nothing but net'_ she thought cockily.

"A granny shot?" Nathan raised an eyebrow

"Hey, a shot's a shot" Haley shrugged.

Nathan chuckled. He'd missed this girl so much, he's not sure how he managed five years without her.

"I hate to break this up, but it's getting late. I should probably head back to my hotel" Haley smiled sadly

"How are you getting there?"

"I was just going to walk" Haley said

"At 9:30 at night?" Nathan exclaimed

"It's Tree Hill" Haley chuckled "I doubt much can happen to me in a thirty minute walk Nathan"

Nathan shook his head vehemently "No way, I'm dropping you"

"Nathan, that's really not necessary" Haley rebutted

"It's fine. Besides, I'm staying in a hotel anyways and they're all in the same area" Nathan said nonchalantly.

Haley could see he wasn't going to let it go. She sighed and smiled "Thank you"

"Let's go" Nathan said taking her hand in his and leading her out to the car. Haley smiled giddily at the feel of Nathan's hand in hers.

* * *

"Nathan, my hotel is just one block over, you can go to your hotel I'll be fine" Haley said as they got out of the car.

"I'm going this way anyways, and like I'd let you walk to your hotel alone" Nathan responded.

They walked side by side, the cool Tree Hill breeze the only sound around them.

"Tell me a secret" Nathan said softly as they walked

"That's an odd question" Haley chuckled

"Come on, we've been best friends since we were twelve years old. I want to know what you've kept from all these year Haley James"

Haley was quiet for a few moments, her bottom lip coming to rest between her teeth again. Nathan noted it as a nervous habit since they were teens.

"I had a crush on you" She whispered "And not like a little girl kind of one, like full-on head over heels, infatuation, kind of crush"

"Really?" Nathan was shocked "How long?"

"Honestly, I don't think it's gone yet" Haley chuckled

Nathan's heart felt like it was bursting in his chest. She liked him, she had liked him since they were teens.

"I liked you too" Nathan smiled

Haley chuckled awkwardly "You don't need to tell me that to protect my feelings Nathan, I'm a big girl"

"I'm not lying Haley"

Haley eyed him suspiciously "How come you never said anything then?"

Nathan shrugged "You were just so..."

"Dorky? Awkward? plain?" Haley offered

"Perfect" He whispered "You were so smart, and beautiful, and kind. I didn't think I deserved you"

"Nathan" Haley frowned "You really don't give yourself enough credit. You're an amazing man"

Nathan smiled at her. Haley stopped on the street a few minutes later.

"This is me" she said pointing to the entrance of the Hotel Riverside

Nathan chuckled "You have to be kidding me"

Haley frowned at Nathan's reaction "I'm staying here too"

Haley chuckled along with him.

"What floor are you?" Haley asked as they walked to the elevators.

"uhhh, penthouse" he said shyly

"Fancy" Haley smiled.

"My agent, Clay, demanded it" Nathan chuckled, pushing the penthouse level as Haley clicked floor 18 "He reckons if I have the salary of an NBA star, I should live like one"

"It's not the worst thing" Haley pointed out as Nathan nodded his head.

They reached the eighteenth floor and Haley turned to look at Nathan

"Well, I guess I'll see you around?" Haley asked

"Definitely" Nathan smiled. Nathan leaned in and paused as he looked at haley's lips, her closed eyes. He shifted his head and kissed her cheek softly

Haley felt slightly confused. Maybe this wasn't what he wanted?

"Goodnight Haley" Nathan said as he held his arm against the door, preventing it from closing.

"Goodnight Nathan" Haley mumbled as she walked out of the elevator.

Nathan groaned as he leaned his head back on the wall, thinking to himself;

 _'I should've kissed her'_

 **A/N: So, hopefully you don't hate me for that ending? I'm trying to do a bit of a slow build with this, especially given that Nathan is still in L.A.**

 **Next chapter will be Haley's job interview at Tree Hill High, and a little Friends Reunion.**

 **As always, please review!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey! I'm so glad you're all liking this story, thanks so much for your wonderful reviews! Also, I made it so that Nathan has a much closer relationship with Karen and Keith when he was growing up, since we're not following the storyline of the show exactly. Nathan and Haley's storyline is very much different (obviously since they're not married haha) but Brooke, Lucas and Peyton's love triangle was still the same.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Hey Aunt Karen" Nathan smiled as he walked into the cafe.

"Nathan" Karen greeted warmly hugging him tightly "How are you?"

"I'm alright. Not looking forward to heading back home" he replied.

Karen raised an eyebrow "Is there a reason for that? Maybe a certain blonde, used-to-be-tutor, and also your best friend?"

Nathan blushed as he looked down at the floor "I don't know what you're talking about Aunt Karen"

Karen narrowed her eyes "Don't you lie to me, Nathan Scott. You've been in love with that girl since you were twelve years old"

Nathan smiled shyly at his pseudo-mother "Have you seen her?"

"She called earlier and said she was going to pop in for breakfast" Karen smiled slyly "You feeling hungry?"

"I could eat" Nathan shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. Karen could see through him.

* * *

Haley stopped outside the cafe, her breathing heavy as she stretched her arms over her head. These five mile runs weren't getting any easier, the Chicago terrain was much flatter to that of Tree Hill. There was no proper running track in Tree Hill, so Haley had gone up through the mountain walking trail for her daily five mile run, a habit she had created in the past five years since she was a scrawny, under-developed 'tutor girl'.

Haley wiped the sweat from her upper lip, and pulled out her earphones as she walked into the cafe. She smiled as she saw Karen walking out of the kitchen, a plate of pancakes, bacon, fries in one hand and a chocolate milkshake in the other. Haley smiled knowingly, following her eyesight to see Karen setting down the mean in front of Nathan.

Haley walked over to the booth and plopped down onto the seat opposite Nathan, smiling as he looked up at her surprised. He groaned internally at the sight of Haley's low cut tank top and shorts.

"I guess some things don't change" Haley indicated to the food in front of him. Nathan smiled

"Oh, so you don't still eat mac and cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner?" He countered back.

"Point taken" Haley nodded "But seriously dude, Mac and Cheese is food -"

"Of the gods" Nathan cut her off. Haley smiled brightly

"You've been saying that for almost the entire length of our friendship Hales. It's permanently embedded into my brain"

Haley laughed at that. The two conversed lightly for a few minutes until Karen walked up and set down a plate of pancakes with hash browns in front of Haley. Haley smiled up at Karen "You remembered"

"Please, you kids came in every weekend to have breakfast together. I have yours, Nathan, Lucas, Jake, Peyton and Brooke's breakfast, lunch and dinner options memorised" Karen chuckled before walking away to serve the new customers who had entered the cafe.

...

"So, are you excited to head back to LA?" Haley asked as they finished eating.

Nathan shrugged "Yeah, I kind of miss Tree Hill though. I'm coming to visit in a week again. I've got a beach house a few doors down from the one Dan used to rent"

"Well then, I guess I might be seeing you soon" Haley smiled

Nathan frowned at her

"I have an interview with Principal Turner today. If all goes well you're looking at the newest English teacher at Tree Hill high school"

"Wow Hales, that's awesome!" Nathan praised

"It's awesome if I get the job" Haley rebuts

"You'll do fine Hales, you always impress" Nathan chuckles at the blush that takes over Haley's face, neck and chest. _'I wonder if that blush goes all the way down'_ Nathan's eyes widen as he realises what he's really needs to get this shit under control.

"So, when do you leave?' Haley changes the subject

"This evening. We've got a game tomorrow night and training tomorrow morning and I've got to be there for all that" Nathan explains.

"The team's doing really well this year Nathan, you guys are only a few wins away from the final four"

Nathan's eyes widened "Wow Hales, since when did you start paying attention to sport?"

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve Scott"

"I'm sure you do" Nathan smirked eyeing Haley's straps. Haley smiled as Nathan watched

"Well, I'd better get home. I've got to get ready for this interview" Haley sighed standing up and heading to the door of the cafe "Bye Nathan, good luck for your game"

"Good luck with your interview" Nathan smiled, watching as Haley headed towards the door. He watched her walking away and quickly ran out the door after her.

"Haley!" Nathan ran after her. Haley stopped and turned around, smiling at Nathan

"Something wrong?" Haley frowned.

"Uh...Can we hang out when I get back from Los Angeles?" He stuttered. Haley smiled at his shyness

"Yeah sure, I look forward to it" Haley put her hand on his neck and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Bye Nathan" Haley grinned before continuing to walk to her car near the park.

* * *

"Julian!" Brooke yelled as she walked down the stairs of her Tree Hill townhouse "Have you seen my red heels?"

"Baby, you have like ten pairs of red heels" Julian groaned from his seat in the office.

"The ones I wore last week to that benefit we went to?" Julian still shook his head. Brooke smirked as she walked into the office, wrapping her arms around Julian's shoulders from behind as she gave a peck on his cheek.

"Your favourite ones? The ones I wore for you on our anniversary" She whispered in his ear. Julian grinned broadly as his eyes lit up.

"Oh, _those_ heels" Julian chuckled "I'm pretty sure they're under the bed, from our date night two night ago?"

"Oh yeeeeeaaaah" Brooke chuckled "Thanks baby" she said before turning to walk out of the office

Julian shut his laptop and swivelled in his chair, grabbing Brooke's wrist and pulling her into his lap "Wait a second, where do you think you're going?" Julian whispered as he kissed her neck.

"I have to go for some photo shoots this afternoon. I'm so sorry about cancelling our plans the last few nights Julian, Victoria's booked me solid for the next few days" Brooke whined.

"I'd like to book you solid for the next few days"

Brooke cringed "Babe, that's terrible" She chuckled.

"It made you laugh didn't it?" Brooke nodded in agreement "than my plan succeeded"

"You're such a dork" Brooke giggled leaning in to kiss him again "I have to go"

"You're no fun" Julian pouted.

"Hey, I almost forgot. I'm so sorry about cancelling our plans the last few nights babe. I've just been so tired, and I don't want to go out and be a lousy date and –"

"It's okay, I get it" Julian smiled, a hint of sadness on his lips.

"Yeah but you love me anyways" Brooke smirks as she looks back at Julian from the doorway before

"That I do Brooke Davis, that I do" Brooke blew him a kiss before walking out the door.

Julian waited until he heard the front door slam shut before turning back and opening his laptop, grabbing his phone to call the number on his screen.

"Hi" Julian said when the receptionist picked up "I'd like to make a booking for next week at 9:00. And I need a good table"

Julian smiled as he pulled out the little blue box from Tiffany's out of his desk drawer

 _"Special night huh?" The lady asked over the phone_

"Hopefully the happiest night of my life" Julian smiled.

* * *

"And this one has four rooms, including two study-office rooms so you can always make a fifth, or even sixth, room if needed" Jenny Hermann explained as she walked around the property.

Peyton smiled tightly at the woman as she continued to explain all the features of the house, before glancing down at her iPhone again. 30 mins. She opened her messages app and quickly sent a new text.

 _Where the hell are you!?_

"So, that's the fifth house for today. Did you want to see some more, or we can continue tomorrow?" Jenny asked

"I think I'll keep looking tomorrow, that way I can catch my husband up on all the houses he missed today" Peyton said sadly.

Jenny smiled and placed her hand on Peyton's shoulder "Of course, I'll let you have a little look around until the next viewers get here. Call me if you have any questions. I'll see you tomorrow, same time?" Peyton nodded and Jenny squeezed her shoulder before walking out of the house, leaving Peyton to wander around.

Peyton walked through the upstairs of the house, smiling as she walked into a child's bedroom; bright blue walls with little car designs on one wall above the crib, with the name ' _Jason'_ written in white cloud-writing in the middle of the design.

She could see raising a family in this home. It was perfect. But she needed to see if her husband liked it first. And unfortunately he wasn't here, again. Peyton sighed as her hand brushed over the railing of the crib, letting a tear fall from her eyes. She didn't want to keep feeling like this. Like she was the third wheel in her own marriage.

Lucas had promised her this trip to Tree Hill would be about them, and not work. But, as always, Lindsey called with an 'emergency'. He had promised he would meet her at the second house at the very latest, and here she was four hours later. No husband in sight.

Peyton walked out the front door of the house, waving a quick goodbye to Jenny on her way out. She hopped into her car, starting the engine, and stared out at the road in front of her. And, not for the first time, she didn't want to head home to her husband. She didn't want to hear him apologise and tell her it would never happen again. But she indicated out of the street and headed towards her home anyways. If she could even call it home anymore.

* * *

Lucas sat at his desk in his old childhood home. Karen and Keith had insisted that Lucas and Peyton stay with them while they were in Tree Hill, so that they could spend as much time with the young couple as possible.

He was sending what felt like the thousandth email in the past hour, when the door to the side porch connected to his room opened, and in walked Peyton. Lucas frowned as she walked in, dumped her bag on the bed, and headed straight to the bathroom without so much as a 'hello'.

He waited for her to come back out to the bedroom and quickly sent the last of his emails, along with a quick text to Lindsey to let her know about the progress he'd made with the novel. Peyton walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her blonde-brown hair now out of its ponytail and her black heels and grey dress swapped out for a tank top, sweatpants and black socks.

"Hey" He smiled "How was the house inspections"

"Fine" Peyton replied grabbing her laptop and settling in on the bed to do some work.

"Did you bring the pamphlets back?" Lucas asked.

"Nope"

"Are you going to keep being monosyllabic with me, or are you going to start using full sentences?" His tone turning more sarcastic and annoyed now.

"... Dunno" She smirked, knowing Lucas got annoyed by the colloquial terms like that one which people use.

"Well, tell me about the houses at least" Lucas tried a different approach.

"You want to see them?" She asked looking at her computer.

Lucas smiled, _'Success'_ he thought. "Yes, please"

Peyton raised her eyes to meet him and spat out "Well then next time, come look at the fucking houses with me"

Lucas sighed. He really hoped she wouldn't be mad about that. "Babe, I'm sorry, It was an emer-"

"Emergency" Peyton cut him off, muttering on "It's always an emergency"

"Peyton. Don't be like this"

"Like what? Upset? Annoyed? Frustrated beyond belief?" She argued

"This is my job Peyton, Lindsey called and said that it couldn't wait. What was I supposed to do!?" He exclaimed.

Peyton shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. She was so sick and tired of this shit.

Lucas watched as she looked at him again. He could see her face turning hard, trying to mask the pain and the hurt before she mumbled out an exhausted reply.

"Forget it"

And with that she jumped off the bed and headed into the guest room, slamming the door shut behind her.

 **A/N: Okay, I know Naley is going slow but bear with me I swear I have a plan for them! Brulian wasn't in here too much but I have plans for them next chapter. Leyton was a bit of a focus but I feel like I sort of skimmed over them in the last few chapters.**

 **I'm really trying to do the whole three-couple-stories at once thing while trying to make sure Naley is still the main couple focused on in this story. Hopefully you're all enjoying the story so far! Next chapter will be Naley with some little Brulian bits. And I have plans for a much-needed girls night out. Leyton and Brulian won't be there too much in the upcoming chapters while I focus on developing Naley's relationship.**

 **Also, I've had a few people message and ask where Jake fits into this story. Don't worry, he's coming soon too ...**

 **As always, Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far and if there's anything you'd like to see happen and I'll try to write it in!**

 **Have a good week,**

 **Maddie :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for your reviews on this, I got a few rude/mean/creepy reviews on some of my stories, and they put me in a bit of a funk with my writing. But I'm back now and hopefully you're all still here!**

 **NOTE: This chapter covers different dates over an entire month, so it's going to be a bit of jumping but I've tried to make it as flowing as possible in terms of the sequence of events.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~ What I Knew I Always Wanted ~**

 _ **May 6**_ _ **TH**_ _ **, 2012**_

"Where exactly are you?" Haley asked into her phone

" _How can you not see me? Surely you're not that short"_ the caller replied.

"Shut up" Haley rolled her eyes "Seriously though, where the hell are you?"

"Right here" Haley jumped at the voice and turned around, whacking her hand against the man's shoulder

"Ow!"

"Seriously Nathan!? You just gave me a freaking heart attack!" Haley exclaimed as Nathan rubbed his shoulder.

He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her "I'm sorry Hales"

Haley smiled and pulled back slightly, not moving from his one-armed embrace  
"How was LA?"

Nathan made a face "Eh, okay. I'm glad to be back home. Thanks for picking me up"

Haley shrugged indifferently "I had nothing better to do"

Nathan's hand comes to rest over his heart, his face an over-dramatic expression of pain "You know, words hurt Hales. They really hurt"

Haley scoffed and smacked her hand against Nathan's chest again and they both laugh as they continue to walk to the car.

…

Nathan and Haley sat at Karen's Café the next day for lunch as Haley graded papers side by side.

"So how's the new job going?" Nathan asked "We didn't really talk about it much at dinner last night"

Haley looked up from the paper she was currently looking at, her pan resting between her lips, and Nathan had to stifle a groan. She smiled innocently up at him before answering

"It's been really busy, but I love teaching. Turner's been really nice as well, making sure I felt comfortable starting out. It's kind of weird seeing all my old teachers and getting told 'Haley dear I'm not your teacher you can call me by my first name' it kind of reminds me that we've all grown up"

"I can't imagine calling Miss Greenwood by her first name" Nathan scrunched up his nose

"Gertrude" Haley giggled as Nathan scrunched his face further at Haley's comment.

"So are you still coming down next weekend?" Nathan asked as the waitress set down their meals.

Haley nodded vehemently "I'm so excited, I've never been to LA! And I get to go see a Lakers game too. I have to remember to buy my seat before they all go"

"I've already got you a ticket" Nathan replied taking a bite of his food "You're sitting court side right next to my team"

"Nathan, that's too much!" Haley interjected "There's no way I'm letting you pay for that"

"Firstly, each player gets two free tickets per game, and any other tickets are discounted anyways. And even if I did have to pay full price, there's no way I would let you try to stop me" He smirked

Haley rolled her eyes "You are too much Nathan Royal Scott"

"Yeah but you love me anyways, Haley Bob James" he chuckled as Haley blushed.

* * *

 _ **May 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2012**_

Haley smiled to herself as she stood at Nathan's front door. He wasn't expecting her for another two days, but since school was cancelled due to the heat she decided to move her flights and surprise him.

She felt nervous though. They were friends, they always had been. But lately, it felt like their relationship was progressing. The constant flying back and forth to see each other, most people would think they were in a long distance relationship.

"Hang on a minute!" Nathan's mumbled voice echoed through the door.

Haley smiled as Nathan opened the door. He was wearing only his boxers, his hair was spiking out everywhere and his eyes were barely open.

"Surprise!" Haley said as she wrapped her arms around him.

Nathan's tired eyes widened as he realised who was holding him. He brought his arms around her waist and gripped her tightly, lifting her up off the ground slightly.

"Haley, you're early" He said shocked and confused.

"School was shut because of the heat, I wanted to surprise you" She smiled shyly.

"That you did" Nathan chuckled "But I meant you're here early, as in seven in the morning _early_ "

Haley giggled at his statement "Well I knew you wouldn't be up so it was the best time to plan a sneak attack. And besides, _I'm_ a morning person"

Nathan shook his head and chuckled, wrapping his arm around Haley's shoulder and pulling her in the house, grabbing her suitcase and pulling it into the foyer.

"Come on James, I need some coffee before you explain yourself"

* * *

 _ **May 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2012**_

"So if you need anything I'm sitting two rows in front, just yell or text me since you have my number. I have to get the passes from the Lakers co-ordinator so I'll get that to you at the end of the game so that you can see Nathan, and –"

"Clay" Haley smiled cutting him off "We've been over all of this four times. I got it"

Clay smiled sheepishly "sorry, it's just Nathan was very specific that I make sure you're looked after tonight. And as his best friend and agent, I have to take that seriously"

"Well you've looked after me very well, thank you" She replied "You know we really should hang out more, my sister would really like you"

Clay raised an eyebrow in interest "A sister, really?"

Haley laughed "She's planning on coming to LA in a couple of weeks on assignment, maybe we can all hang out then"

Clay nodded as Haley sat down in her seat "I knew I'd like you James" he winked before walking further down to his own seat.

Haley chuckled softly and shook her head. She could honestly say she had never met anyone like Clay Evans before. Quinn really would love him.

Nathan sighed as he looked down at basketball bouncing between his hands and the hardwood floor. He looked back up and took a shot, the ball flying straight into the hoop, nothing but net.

He looked around the stadium, the adoring fans cheering him and his teammates on. But none of them really mattered to him, all he could see was her. Nathan's eyes zoned in on Haley, they caught each other's eye and she smiled at him before blowing a kiss and Nathan winked in return.

He couldn't help but feel that his and Haley's relationship was changing, growing. They had been visiting each other for the past month and it all felt too…romantic. Like something people in a relationship do. Surprise each other on a trip, hang out all the time, email and text constantly. He honestly had no idea what they were doing, but he was enjoying every second of it.

…

"Nathan!"

Nathan smiled as Haley ran towards him. He opened his arms as Haley flung herself into his him wrapping her arms around his neck, securing his own around her waist.

"You were amazing!" Haley exclaimed kissing his cheek.

Nathan blushed "Thanks Hales"

They pulled apart and Nathan took Haley's hand in his as they walked towards the backstage exit.

"I can't believe how great you did Nate!" Haley gushed

"I tried my best for you" Nathan smirked

Haley rolled her eyes "Oh how kind of you. Trying to impress me?"

Nathan shrugged "Maybe I am"

They walked out the door into the quiet night, hand in hand, unaware of the person lurking in the shadows behind them.

* * *

 _ **May 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2012**_

"So how's boyfriend?" Brooke said as she plopped down on the couch next to Haley.

Haley rolled her eyes pulling out one spoon from the ice cream carton and took a bite of the mint chocolate chip goodness.

"He's not my boyfriend" She groaned.

Brooke scoffed "Oh please, you're hopelessly in love with him"

"I am not!"

"Haley Bob James don't you dare lie to me"

Haley stayed silent as Brooke glared at her, instead turning her attention to the TV screen and her ice cream. Brooke sighed seeing the confused look on Haley's face.

"I'm sorry sweetie, you know I'm only teasing" Brooke wrapped her arm around Haley.

"I know you are, I just-" she frowned "I don't know what I'm doing Brooke! We're always talking, emailing, texting. And when we're not doing that we're flying hours away to visit each other. I'm seeing his games, and he's sitting in on my classes. I'm a mess Brooke"

Brooke chuckled slightly "You like him Tutor girl, it's okay"

"Maybe I do. That still doesn't help me any"

"It means you tell him how you feel Haley"

* * *

 _ **May 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2012**_

"Remind me why we decided to go dancing?" Nathan groaned

Haley giggled as she walked in the door behind him "Because it's fun! Don't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself"

Nathan tried to hold in a smile "Well, you doing your little dance move was _very_ interesting to see"

Haley blushed at his statement. They both walked in the door and Nathan flopped onto the bed. He watched as Haley walked into the bathroom, not fully shutting the door. He watched as she pulled her dress up and off, suppressing a groan as he caught sight of her bare back as she took off her bra. Haley reached over and grabbed her T-shirt from off the door handle and pulled it over her head, turning around.

Since they had been visiting each other, they had both been sharing each other's bed. It happened when they fell asleep talking late one night, and it had now become a comfortable routine.

Nathan quickly looked away as Haley began to walk out into her bedroom. She lay down on the bed next to Nathan and turned so they were face to face, Haley's eyes closed.

"Nathan?" Haley whispered

Nathan ran his fingers through her hair, whispering a "yeah?" in response.

"I think I'm a little buzzed" She giggled softly.

Nathan chuckled leaning in to kiss her forehead "I had fun tonight"

"Me too" Haley smiled opening her eyes slightly "You know I've really enjoyed this past month"

"Me too" Nathan said softly, locking eyes with Haley.

He could feel himself leaning in, his eyes switching between her eyes and her lips. The tip of Haley's tongue poked out gently to run across her bottom lip. She put her hand on the side of his neck, brushing her thumb against his cheek, and scooted in closer to him. She smiled as Nathan ran his thumb over her lips, resting on hand on her back.

"Nathan?" She whispered again

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me already"

And with that he pulled her lips to his.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I am SO SORRY that this took so long! I've been really busy with school and I've been sick on top of it so it's been really hard to write lately. Hope you guys like where this story is going.**

 **Thanks to Naley12 (who I'm writing this story for) with your help on this chapter :)**

 **NOTE: I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the whole gang has pretty much grown up with each other but have really been friends since they were like 10 years old.**

 **and also, this story is officially M rated! So beware of naughty words haha :P**

 **And please excuse the use of the word "moan" a lot. It's been a while since I've had to write an M scene :D**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~ What I Knew I Always Wanted ~**

Nathan didn't know what was happening.

Well, that was a lie. He knew _what_ was happening, he just wasn't sure _how_ they got there.

But he knew one thing, he did not want to go back.

Their tongues were battling for dominance as their lips mingled together. Haley lifted herself up slightly, forcing Nathan to roll from his side onto his back as Haley straddled his waist. Nathan's hand ran against her cheek softly while the other brushed the skin of her lower back under her shirt. Haley's hands both raked through his hair tugging slightly and eliciting a moan from Nathan.

Nathan pulled back from her, his hands staying where they were.

"Hales." he whispered out breathless.

"Don't you dare say we should stop." She whispered reaching her hands down to the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it over her head.

Nathan groaned as he saw her almost completely naked body, moving to kiss the weak spot of her neck. The moans that came after were like music to his ears. He pulled her flush against him, her breasts pressing into his shirt-clad chest.

Haley circled her hips slowly, feeling Nathan's growing erection through his boxers. She smirked against his lips as she ground down on him eliciting a groan from him.

"Hales" he murmured against her lips.

"I want you." she spoke pulling her lips from his and meeting his eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She had just admitted to being buzzed, and he didn't want her to think he was taking advantage of the situation.

Haley smiled "Yes Nathan"

She could still see the apprehension on his face. Haley leaned in and kissed his cheek, trailing kisses down his neck as he fingers played with the edge of his sleep shirt. Haley quickly bunched the material in her hands and pulled him up Nathan's chest, breaking from her kisses to pull the shirt over his head and onto the floor.

Nathan smirked as he saw Haley's eyes widen. Her eyes raked him up and down eyeing his chiselled body. Nathan's hands returned to brush over the span of her back causing tingles to travel up Haley's spine.

Nathan kept his hands there, not wanting to push his luck. He had been dreaming of this moment since he was a scrawny 14 year old kid with a crush.

Haley could sense his nerves, she could see it in the way his body sat still below her. She smiled and leaned in to brush her nose against Nathan's.

"Relax Nate." she spoke placing one hand on his cheek and the other on his chest above his heart "Kiss me again." she asked softly.

He didn't deny her. Nathan joined his lips with hers for a moment before moving his way down her neck sucking softly on her pulse point. Haley let out a soft whimper moving her hands to grip his hair again, and Nathan could feel his resolve fading more and more.

His hands moved slowly as his lips sucked harder on her skin, determined to mark her. Haley's fingers trailed their way down his chest brushing over his well-defined abs and settling on the waistband of his boxers.

Nathan pulled back and sat up with Haley still on top of him "Hales, I think-" he started to say again.

"Nathan, I want this. For fuck's sake I'm sitting on top of you almost completely naked! What more do I have to do to convince you?" She exclaimed.

Nathan was silent for a few moments "I just ... things will change for us Haley" he whispered softly.

Haley shook her head rolling her eyes. She was silent, choosing to let her actions speak over her words. She pushed Nathan's shoulders so that he was lying down completely as she hovered her face over his.

"Maybe I want them to change" She spoke softly against his lips.

And that was all Nathan needed.

Haley gasped as Nathan pulled her down onto him and rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He kissed down her neck, his hands running along the side of her body travelling from her hips to her ribcage. Nathan kissed down her toned body, sucking on her flesh in spots as he went. He let his left hand trail up to her breast while his mouth moved to her right one.

His hand palmed her one breast while he kissed all around the other as Haley let out a guttural moan. Without warning Nathan took her nipple into his mouth sucking and gently biting the nub as he went, tweaking the nipple of her other breast between his fingers. Haley's hands pulling and grasping his hair only urged him on more as he switched his focus between each breast.

"Nathan" He could feel himself growing harder at the way she said his name. She could hear herself mumbling some incoherencies, but she couldn't focus on anything else but the feel of Nathan's mouth and hands all over her body and the throbbing between her thighs that he was causing.

She ached for him, craved him. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted a man in her entire life.

Nathan's lips continued their trail down her body stopping to sink into the soft swell of her navel, loving the way her body lifted up towards him as he did. Haley was biting her lip hard, trying to muffle the screams of pleasure that were already threatening to escape. He hadn't done much, but it was enough to send her body into overdrive.

"Nathan" Haley panted "I ..."

Nathan's head perked up, his eyes watching her as his hands rested on the lace trim of her underwear.

"What is it baby, what do you want?" His tongue brushed against her hip bone just above her underwear, and Haley's hips bucked.

Haley moaned loudly "You! I want you, please."

Nathan smirked at her frantic state. He kissed along her pubic bone as his fingers curled around the top of her underwear and he slowly pulled them down, trailing his fingers down through the hair covering her womanhood as he went. He tossed the lace material behind him as he focused his attention back to her.

"You're so beautiful" Nathan murmured.

Haley's head lolled to the side as Nathan's hands travelled lazily up the inside of her thighs, his fingers barely brushing her lips as he went. She looked down at him and could see the smirk still evidently on his face.

She kept eye contact with him as he bent down to place the lightest of kisses on her sex, his tongue protruding out to slip between her lips slightly. Haley groaned as her head crashed back down on the bed. Nathan's lips became more evident, his tongue pushing its way into her before moving up to gently suck her clit.

Haley moaned loudly at the feelings he was eliciting within her.

"Nathan, please" She begged.

"What is it sweetheart?" She could hear the lust in his voice, the way his throat sounded scratchy, the huskiness of his voice. He wanted this too. But he wanted to tease her first.

"Take me" She spoke softly "I want you Nathan, I _need_ you. Please"

Haley let out a breath as Nathan released her from his mouth. He slowly slid up the bed, leaning down to kiss her again. Haley sighed at the feel of his lips against hers. She could taste her arousal on him, fuelling her desire even further.

She moved one hand down his body again, dipping into his boxers and taking his erection in her hand. Nathan groaned as her fingers wrapped around him, gently stroking.

Haley smiled against his lips as she swiped a bit of pre-cum off his tip with her thumb, Nathan's head dropping to her neck as he let out another groan. Haley's hand slipped away and she brought her hand up, biting her thumb between her lips.

Nathan let out a low growl and reattached his lips to hers as Haley's legs wrapped around his waist, using her feet to push Nathan's boxers over his ass and down his legs with Nathan's hands helping her some.

Nathan reached down and took his now throbbing member in his hand positioning himself at her entrance. He held eye contact with her, making sure one last time that this was what she wanted. Haley answered him, pushing his ass up with her feet so that he would thrust forward a little.

Haley winced slightly as she felt Nathan claim her, pulling him down to take his lips again. Nathan stilled once he was fully inside her, letting her get used to the feel of him. He began to move slowly, pulling out slightly before rolling his hips as he pushed back in, bumping against her clit.

Haley started moving as well, Nathan's hands on her hips guiding her as she went. They met thrust for thrust, Haley squeezing her muscles around him on every downstroke.

"Hales" Nathan moaned.

"Nathan" She panted "Harder, Faster, please."

Nathan stopped moving for a moment almost completely slipping out of her. Haley whined and wriggle beneath him, trying to gain some friction between them again.

"Patience baby" Nathan gruffly spoke as he slammed back into her.

Haley groaned at the force of Nathan's thrusts, matching his pace. Nathan could feel his release stirring within him and he wanted Haley to come with him. Nathan reached between their sweat-slick bodies and pressed his palm against her clit.

"Nathan!" Haley moaned out.

Haley reached her hands up and pulled Nathan back to her kissing him again, this time with fiercely. Her tongue slid against his, mimicking what their lower halves were doing. Nathan broke away and his mouth moved to slowly lick and suck over her breast before taking her nipple into his mouth again.

"Nathan, baby I'm so close" Haley spoke softly, her breath coming in short spurts.

"I know Hales, me too" Nathan grunted out.

He slammed into her harder, Haley gripped onto the headboard biting her lip hard as she felt a tingling in the base of her spine.

"Come on Haley, come for me. Come on baby." Nathan growled out, moving his head to the crook of her neck.

Nathan pinched her clit hard, and Haley felt her body set off.

"Nathan!" She cried out as her orgasm ripped through her.

Haley's head pushed back into the bed, riding out her orgasm as Nathan kept going, thrusting into her a few more times before he felt himself explode, calling her name as he went. Nathan let his arms fall from under him, his body collapsing on top of Haley.

They were both quiet for a few minutes, collecting their breath. Haley's hand rubbed against Nathan's back gently as her body settled. Nathan took a breath, slipping out of Haley and rolling to his side taking Haley into his arms.

Haley's hand came to rest on Nathan's chest over his heart, and Nathan's lips moved to gently press against her hairline.

"That was … " Nathan stopped short.

"Amazing" Haley laughed softly kissing Nathan's chest.

Nathan smiled, his hand gently running through her hair. "Hales?"

"Hhmmmm?"

"What exactly was this?" Nathan asked.

Haley was silent. Nathan frowned, his nerves starting to build.

"Hales?" Nathan looked down and smiled.

Haley had fallen asleep. He watched her for a moment; the way her hair was strewn across his arm beneath her, her eyes shut peacefully, the way her body curled into his like it was the most natural thing.

He knew in that moment, that what happened tonight wasn't just sex. It was the beginning of something wonderful.

* * *

Nathan could feel the light shining on his closed eyes. He grumbled, reaching out his hand seeking the warm body that had kept him company all night. Nathan frowned when he felt the cool sheets below his fingertips. His eyes slowly opened and he took in the empty space next to him.

Nathan looked to the other side, the clock on his bedside table showing him it was late morning. He let out a yawn as he stretched, sitting up and getting out of bed. Nathan walked over and grabbed his boxers from the floor and walked out the door in search of Haley.

As Nathan walked down the stairs he could hear a soft melody coming from somewhere. He walked towards the living room and spotted Haley sitting on the couch, legs-crossed wearing only his shirt, strumming her guitar softly singing to herself as she looked out the window.

" _Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly"_

Nathan smiled as he heard her sing, she had such a beautiful voice. He often wondered why she pursued a teaching career instead of music, but Haley would always blush and tell him he was being ridiculous.

"Hey" Nathan was brought out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Haley smiling up towards him.

Nathan walked over to the couch and sat down next to her, leaning in to place a quick peck to her lips.

"Hi" He whispered "You look good sitting in my shirt singing the Beatles"

Haley smiled and set her guitar down next to her "I guess we should talk about last night huh?"

Nathan sighed "I don't want you to feel like you have to talk to me Haley. But I know that I don't regret what happened between us"

"Neither do I"

Nathan felt a sigh of relief escape him. "So where do we go from here then?" he asked her.

Haley shrugged "I don't know. This is hard Nathan, you're an NBA player. You're out on the road most of the year, and I'm a high school teacher in Tree Hill. How do you reckon that works?"

"We've been doing pretty good at figuring that out this past month" He countered.

Haley nodded her head in agreement, staying silent. She looked down at her fingers as they fumbled around in her lap.

Nathan could tell she was feeling nervous. He sighed and reached to grab her hands in his, causing her to look up at him.

"I don't know what this is between us Haley, but I think we can both agree that whatever it is, we don't want it to stop"

Haley nodded again.

"So how about, we just keep on doing whatever _this_ " he indicated between them "is and just see where it goes? It can be just between us for now, no one else has to know."

Haley raised an eyebrow "So basically just fucking around?"

Nathan shrugged "well, _monogamously_ fucking around"

Haley chuckled "That's not a bad idea"

"My ideas usually aren't" he joked.

Haley rolled her eyes, lightly punching his shoulder before standing up from the couch.

"Come on, we got to go" She said walking up the stairs

"Round two?" Nathan smirked.

Haley scoffed "You wish. Actually Brooke texted and said we were all catching up for breakfast since they haven't really had the chance to catch up with us in the past month" She stopped on the staircase to explain.

Nathan groaned "It's way too early Brooke's bubbliness"

Haley walked over to Nathan, standing on the bottom step so that she was height level with him and wrapped her arms around his neck pecking his lips before leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. And maybe if you're good you'll get a round two"

Nathan stood there in shock as Haley giggled and ran up the stairs.

' _You will be the death of me Haley James'_ Nathan chuckled to himself as he followed her upstairs to get ready.

* * *

The six friends were all sitting at a restaurant along the pier having just finished eating breakfast and were placing new orders. They had been catching up for the past two hours and breakfast had now morphed into lunch.

"You look good today Tutor girl!" Brooke said as Haley, Peyton and Brooke were conversing next to each other.

Haley felt her cheeks redden "I think it's the Los Angeles atmosphere"

"Some hell of an atmosphere, she's positively glowing" Peyton said nudging Brooke.

Haley rolled her eyes "I don't know what you two are on about"

"She's right" Brooke said "If I didn't know any better I would've thought you finally gave it up while you were gone"

"Brooke!" Haley scolded as she looked around them.

"Well it's about time you gave up that card Bob!" Peyton jumped in

"Wait a second" Julian said from across Brooke at the table "Did I just hear right?"

"I've told you, tutor girl is like the virgin Mary!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I thought you were joking!" Julian countered.

"We've known each three five years, and you still can't figure out when I'm joking or not?" Brooke said.

"Well when you were telling me about your friend Haley and just casually slipped in 'oh yeah and she's a virgin' I probably should have realised" Julian chuckled.

"Wait a second" Nathan interrupted, him and Lucas finally tuning in to the conversation "What did you just say?"

"I was trying to tell tutor girl she needs to lets herself be deflowered already" Brooke said.

Nathan's eyes narrowed as he looked Haley in the eye "You're still a virgin?"

Haley nodded, not saying anything. She looked down at her empty plate in front of her and then back at Nathan, trying to read him.

Nathan was silent for a few moments as the conversation resumed around him. Haley was trying to focus on what Brooke was saying when she suddenly heard a chair scraping along the floor of the restaurant.

His friends all turned to look at him as he shot out of his chair "Uh- I'm just…feeling a bit dizzy. I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back in a minute" and with that he was out of the restaurant before anyone could say a word.

Haley's eyes shut as she took a deep breath. She knew she and Nathan would need to talk about this. And she was not looking forward to it.

 **A/N: There's Chapter 7! This is definitely one of the longest chapters I've written, over 3000 words! I hope you all liked it.**

 **Next chapter will be some naley talk and some Brulian and Leyton drama too.**

 **As always, reviews are amazing and make my day!**

 **Have a good weekend,**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken so long, I'm trying to work on finishing my Brucas story for Dianehermans and totally forgot about updating! School's been really hard lately with exam weeks but I'm all done now so expect more frequent updates!**

 **Also, sorry for the lack of Leyton and Brulian the past few chapters, they will be making a reappearance this one!**

 **NOTE: This chapter continues on from the last one but there's a little flashback in here too. The Italics and apostrophe (') are the character's thoughts.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _Nathan's eyes narrowed as he looked Haley in the eye "You're still a virgin?"_

 _Haley nodded, not saying anything. She looked down at her empty plate in front of her and then back at Nathan, trying to read him._

 _Nathan was silent for a few moments as the conversation resumed around him. Haley was trying to focus on what Brooke was saying when she suddenly heard a chair scraping along the floor of the restaurant._

 _His friends all turned to look at him as he shot out of his chair "Uh- I'm just…feeling a bit dizzy. I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back in a minute" and with that he was out of the restaurant before anyone could say a word._

 _Haley's eyes shut as she took a deep breath. She knew she and Nathan would need to talk about this. And she was not looking forward to it._

…

 _ ***May 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2012***_

Nathan couldn't stop pacing. He needed to sit down, clear his head. But he couldn't sit still. How the hell did he not know that Haley was still a virgin?  
 _'Maybe if you hadn't have been thinking with the little brain down there you would've had time to figure it out'._

"Nathan" Nathan's head shot up, his eyes locking with Haley's "Can you please come back inside?"

Nathan shook his head "Why didn't you tell me?"

Haley sighed "Nathan… Look, can we talk about this later? You've been gone for almost forty-five minutes. Everyone is getting worried."

"I need to know Haley! Last night, I-"

"No." Haley's voice grew stern, her hand coming up to stop him "You don't get to do that. Last night was not a mistake, I knew what I wanted and I chose to continue. If I didn't want it to happen, it wouldn't have."

Nathan's voice is calmer, his hands coming to rest on Haley's upper arms "I just wish you had told me."

"Nathan…" She didn't know what to say "Look, let's just go inside and finish seeing our friends and then, I promise, you and I will talk. Please?"

Nathan looked down at Haley's outstretched hand before nodding and silently taking it within his, the two walking back to the restaurant.

…

Haley paced back and forth in the living room of her two-bedroom apartment. Brooke had helped her find an affordable complex on the river just three blocks from hers. She kicked a box of her stuff that lay on the floor, frustration and anxiety growing within her. Nathan was supposed to meet her after he dropped Peyton and Lucas home, but that had been over an hour ago.

Was he really that upset with her for not telling him about her virginity? She hadn't meant to keep it from him, and now she may have ruined everything.

A knock at the door drew her out of her thoughts, and Haley almost tripped over the spilled contents of her box as she ran to answer. She swung the door open and stopped at the sight of Nathan.

"Hey." He spoke softly.

"Hi." Haley smiled, stepping aside for Nathan to come in.

They both walked around awkwardly eventually making their way to sit on the couch.

"The place looks nice." Nathan spoke.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice." Haley scoffed "Did you seriously come here just to talk about my new place?"

"No." Nathan chuckled "I just don't really know what to say."

"You wanted answers. How about you let me give them to you?" Nathan nodded at her suggestion.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't trying to keep it from you." Haley huffed "I just got so caught up in the moment last night, and there's never been a conversation about it beforehand."

"Hales, you have no experience in this area, what if –"

"It's not like I haven't done … other things. Just not _that_."

"That's not the point Hales. I could've done something that made you uncomfortable, or worse, I could've hurt you. I'm not upset about the virginity part, it's that you didn't tell me about it."

Nathan was quiet bringing his hand to grasp Haley's as tears filled her eyes.

"I know I should've told you, and I'm sorry. Truly. But I don't regret what happened last night and I don't want you to either-"

"I don't." Nathan interjected "I just wish I had known, I could've made it more…I don't know, special."

"Nathan, I didn't need anything fancy or extravagant. It was special because it was with someone I care about, _you_ made it special."

Haley's hand came up to rest against Nathan's cheek, her thumb brushing gently against his cheekbone and his head hung in shame "Nathan, look at me."

His eyes met hers, and Haley leaned in to kiss his lips gently. "Please believe me Nathan."

"I do." He whispered.

"Promise me?" Haley asked nervously.

"I promise."

* * *

 _ ***June 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 2012***_

"Nathan" Haley moaned as Nathan's lips trailed across her neck, biting softly as her went.

"Hales." He groaned back.

"We can't" she mumbled her response, barely able to form a coherent sentence at the moment "We've got to get up."

"Five more minutes." Nathan whined as Haley pushed his shoulder gently, forcing him to move back.

"Please, five more minutes and we'd be here for the whole day. I know you, Nathan Scott."

"Fine" Nathan grumbled back getting out of his bed. "I really don't see why we have to go for this anyways."

"Because Peyton and Jake are our friends and we promised them."

" _I_ promised to show up, _you_ are the one who told them we'd help set up." Nathan argued.

"Awww, poor Nathan Scott has to do some manual labour for once in his life." Haley teased as she walked into the en suite bathroom.

"All I'm saying is we could still be in bed right now, instead of having to go help Peyton set up for her label launch party!" He yelled back.

"Suck it up!" He heard Haley's voice over the running shower.

Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. Since their talk, he and Haley had been stronger than ever. They had been enjoying the past few days to themselves, most of the time spent in bed – not that Nathan was complaining. He loved feeling like this, and he loved that it was with Haley, this was something he could get used to.

"Hey." Haley poked her head out of the bathroom "You coming or what?"

Nathan smirked, following after her.

' _I could definitely get used to this.'_

* * *

Julian sighed as he felt the whiskey burn his throat. He had been at Tric for over three hours now, having helped Peyton, Jake, Nathan and Haley set up the club for the launch party.

Brooke, however, had got stuck at work. Something that Julian was becoming accustomed to. Over the past few weeks, Brooke had rescheduled on him almost every night they made plans. The ring he had bought over six months ago still burning a hole in his sock drawer.

Yesterday had been no different. After being stood up for the third time that week, Julian needed a night like tonight. He just wanted to drink away his troubles.

"You're starting the night strong." Nathan said as he joined his friend "Brooke turn you down?"

Julian chuckled bitterly "She'd have to actually stay long enough for me to ask her before that could happen. But apparently Victoria is more important than I am."

"I'm sorry man." Nathan patted his shoulder "You know how Brooke is. Especially with her mother, she wasn't around for most of Brooke's life. And now that she is, Brooke wants to make up for lost time, even if her mum is only really around for Brooke's company."

"I know. I just wish she would stop letting Victoria take advantage of her like that."

"You love her Julian, just talk to her. Things will settle down."

"I sure hope so." Julian said clinking his glass against Nathan's.

* * *

"You're going to pace a whole in the floor." Jake laughed as he looked at his friend and business partner.

"Shut up. I'm nervous." Peyton replied.

Jake smiled and passed her his drink, laughing again as she downed the whole glass in one go.

"He promised he'd be here. I can't do this without him."

"Peyton, everything's going to be fine."

"You don't know that Jake. We've got everything on the line here, We've all moved back to Tree Hill, spent most of our savings and have no clue if this will even work, what if –"

"Hey." Jake interrupted taking a hold of her hand "It's all going to work out, I know."

"Oh really? How?" Peyton sarcastically replied.

"Because it's us. No one's got more heart and soul for this industry than you Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton smiled "Thank you, I needed that."

"Anytime buddy." He kissed her cheek before walking over to his mother and daughter.

Peyton watched the family as they hugged each other and talked, Jake holding Jenny with a proud smile in his arms. With a heavy sigh, she looked back down at her phone and pressed the first person on her speed dial again. She could feel her frustration growing as it went to voicemail, again.

"Hey Lucas, It's me. Peyton. Your _wife_. Just calling to see where you are, for the _fifth time_ in _twenty minutes_. Call me back if you feel like letting me know whether or not you're going to show up."

Peyton hung up the phone again, shoving her phone into her bag and walking to the bar where Haley was.

"Whatever you're having, I'll take double."

"Nervous?" Haley chuckled.

"More to do with the fact that my husband hasn't shown up yet."

"Lucas isn't here!?" Haley exclaimed.

"He had an emergency come up with the book tour schedule. Lindsay flew down this morning to talk to him and I haven't seen him since."

"Oh Peyt…"

"It's fine. He'll be here soon." Peyton forced a smile.

Haley's hand came up to reassuringly rest on Peyton's shoulder "I'm sure he will be."

Haley handed Peyton her drink then began walking over towards Nathan, stopping short as she felt her phone buzz.

"You better be here in the next twenty minutes or I'm going to kill you." Haley said to the caller.

 **A/N: This chapter was over 3000 words long, so I've split it into two chapters and I will be uploading the second part of this tomorrow!**

 **Please review!**

 **Maddie :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey! So,** **I also realized that my last chapter may have given the impression Julian went to high school with the rest of the gang. He didn't, he and Brooke met during their second year of college, so they've been together for about three years now.**

 **Enjoy!**

"Julian!" at the sound of his name, Julian swivelled in his chair to meet the eyes of one bright and bubbly Brooke Davis.

"Hey babe." Brooke said as she joined him at the bar "I'm sorry I'm so late."

"I'm surprised you made it at all." Julian bit out.

Brooke frowned as she made eye contact with her boyfriend "What is that supposed to mean?"

Julian shrugged "Just that you've been a little busy lately."

"Babe, I'm so -" Brooke sighed.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the night." Julian smiled tightly.

"Really?" Brooke looked at him unsurely.

Julian just nods his head "I promised Peyton I would check all the video and recording equipment. I'll catch up with you later."

"Julian…" Brooke groaned to herself as she watched her boyfriend walk off.

* * *

"So, I think I'm in the doghouse?" Brooke said flopping down next to Haley and Peyton in their booth.

"Well if it helps, Lucas will be keeping you company in there for a while." Peyton grumbled.

"I think you both need to have a drink and let it go for the night." Haley suggested.

Brooke looked at her friend suspiciously "What's going on with you Bob?"

"What? Nothing. What are you talking about?" Haley rambled before bringing her glass to her lips.

"You've been…glowing these past few days." Peyton pointed out "I'm beginning to think there's someone making you all glowy."

"Glowy isn't a word." Haley chuckled.

"You're deflecting!" Brooke exclaimed "You're totally hiding something!"

"You're being ridiculous." Haley rolled her eyes taking a sip of her drink.

"You're being ridiculous if you think we can't tell when you're lying Haley James." Peyton said.

Haley sighed "Ugh, fine. I'll tell you everything, but tomorrow. Let's celebrate Peyton for tonight, okay?"

"I like that idea." Peyton cheered raising her glass "To me!"

"To Peyton!" Brooke and Haley joined in, raising their glasses to join with hers.

* * *

Lucas raced into the club, his eyes frantically searching for the one woman he so desperately wanted to see but his eyes instead landed on her business partner.

"Jake!" He called around, watching as the man turned around and smiled brightly at him.

"Hey man, you made it!"

"Barely. Where's Peyton?" Lucas asked.

Jake pointed to the stage "She's making a little opening speech before we start the show."

Lucas smiled "Thanks, I'll see you later."

Lucas pushed through the crowd of people filling Tric until he reached the backstage entrance. He quickly flashed his pass to the bouncer and rushed inside, his eyes landing on his wife as she bounced nervously in one place.

"Peyton!"

Peyton turned around at the sound of her husband's voice. She couldn't help the relieved smiled that briefly filled her face, matching her husband's own as he sped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Lucas' smile slipped from his face when Peyton pushed away from him as he tried to kiss her cheek.

"Where the fuck have you been?" She snarled.

"I'm so sorry baby, I got held up. I tried to get out of there as fast as I could, Lindsey just –"

"Lindsey. Of course it was Lindsey." Peyton scoffed and Lucas could feel his frustration growing at her words.

"Come on Peyt, you know it's not like that. There was a problem with my novel, what did you expect me to do?"

Peyton shook her head, pushing herself completely out of her husband's embrace.

"I have to go and give my speech. Thank you for once again proving to me that I'm clearly not that high a priority for you." Peyton said before walking out onto the stage.

* * *

Haley and Nathan were cozied up in the booth watching their friends. The night so far had been a success, with Jake and Peyton introducing their first label artist Mia Catalano. Julian had let loose and been enjoying himself for the past few hours, not caring about what an idiot he looked like – although, that may also be because he was drunk off his ass.

Brooke had been keeping Peyton company on the dance floor to help keep her mind of everything that had happened, and Lucas was on the opposite side of the club with Jake and Jenny.

"You know, it's kind of funny when you look at it." Nathan said to Haley.

"Really? Your brother and our friends' misery is entertaining to you?"

"Not that. Just how complicated things get when you're in a relationship. I mean, look at us. No strings, no complications. It seems to work well."

"Good point." Haley laughed "You've never wanted to be in a relationship?"

Nathan shrugged "I tried it a few times, things just never really worked out. You?"

"I always got my heart broken." Haley smiled sadly.

Nathan's body turns to face Haley's, his arm wrapping around her shoulder as he leans in to whisper in her ear "Any guy that lets you go is an idiot Haley James."

Haley's eyes meet his, and she can feel that spark between them.  
"You want to get out of here?"

He had barely uttered the words "definitely" before they were rushing out of the booth. Haley pushed Nathan against the wall in the dimly-lit hallway, pressing her lips against his in an aggressive kiss.

"I need you." Haley moaned out.

"Let's get you home baby." Nathan groaned.

"Nuh-uh." Haley's lips moved down to skim over his neck "I can't wait Nathan. Now."

Nathan grabbed Haley's hand and pulled her with him down the hallway, towards the back office of the club. He pulled them both inside and shut the door, locking it behind him.

Their hands moved fast and frantically, disposing the other of their clothes quickly. Nathan's hands held Haley's hips firmly within his, attaching his lips to hers again and pushing her against the wall. Haley gripped Nathan's shoulders, moving her head back giving Nathan greater access to the skin of her neck.

Haley wrapped one leg around Nathan's waist as his hand moved down her hip to grasp her thigh, wrapping his hand around Haley's other thigh lifting her up so he was holding her against the wall with his body.

Haley made quick work of his pants and boxers, unbuttoning and pushing them down with her feet. Nathan bit down gently on Haley's neck, eliciting a loud moan from her.

"Nathan, please."

"What is it baby?" He smirked against her skin, knowing the effect he had on her.

"We don't have much time Nate. I need you, _now_." She breathed out.

Nathan held onto her waist with one hand, leaning his body into her as he guided her down onto him, causing the both of them to groan loudly. Nathan moved quickly, thrusting himself into her roughly while one hand rubbed against her sensitive clit. Haley's head dropped into the crook of Nathan's neck, her breath coming out short and sharp.

"I'm so close." Haley panted.

"I know baby, me too." Nathan grunted.

Their bodies pressed against one another, both trying to achieve their highs. Haley sucked ferociously on Nathan's neck, Nathan biting her shoulder gently and pinching her clit, spurring her orgasm. Nathan kept moving, helping Haley ride through her orgasm, his own hitting a few minutes later.

"Wow." Haley said after she and Nathan let go of each other a few minutes later.

Nathan chuckled as they started to undress "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Don't get cocky now Scott."

"There are so many jokes I could make right now, but I'm too much of a gentleman to tell them."

Haley rolled her eyes, brushing through her hair with her fingers and smoothing out her dress. She looked over at Nathan, who was just finishing buttoning up his shirt.

"We should probably get back out there." Haley said.

"Well, if we have to." Nathan replied, grasping her hand in his.

They were both laughing softly and smiling as they opened the door, stopping short at the sight before them.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

* * *

 _4 hours later …_

"Okay drunky, to bed we go." Brooke chuckled walking Julian towards the bed.

"I'm fine!" Julian drunkenly cheered.

"Shhh babe, you're going to wake the neighbours." Brooke whispered.

"Our neighbours probably don't even remember who you are. You haven't been here very much!" Julian slurred back.

"Okay let's get you to bed before you say something you regret." Brooke whispered.

"I miss you Brooke." Julian mumbles into her neck.

"I miss you too honey." She whispers back "Come on, let's get you to bed."

Brooke lays Julian down on the bed before methodically removing his shoes, socks, shirt and pants tossing them on the floor until he was down to his boxers. She quickly tucked him into bed, moving to pick up his clothes as she heard something drop to the floor.

She placed the clothes in the laundry hamper and moved back to the bed, bending down to reach under the bed for what had dropped. Her hand grasped the object and she pulled it towards her, stopping short when she saw the little blue box in her hands.

* * *

"Peyt, can we please talk things over?" Lucas asked walking in to their bedroom looking as he tried to undo the cuff link on his shirt "I know I've been busy lately and – "

Lucas stopped when he saw the sight before him. Peyton was lying on their bed facing away from him, curled up in one of his shirts as she cried herself to sleep.

"Peyton." Lucas raced over to her, scooping her up in his arms "I'm so sorry baby."

"You promised you'd be there." She whimpered.

"I know."

"Tonight was supposed to be the best night of my life. I was so nervous, all I wanted was for you to be there and you weren't."

"I'm so sorry." He whispered "I know I haven't been the best husband lately, but I promise you that's going to change."

Peyton was quiet for a while and Lucas continued "Please Peyt, let me make it up to you."

"Things are going to change." Peyton mumbled tiredly "Promise me?"

"I promise." Lucas mumbled as she dozed off. He watched her for a few minutes, brushing his fingers through her hair as she slept. He could feel himself dozing off just as his phone buzzed, quickly looking at the message that flashed upon his screen.

' _Sorry about tonight, I promise that kiss will stay between us. ~ Lindsey xx'_

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I will try to update ASAP!**

 **Maddie :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews they were awesome.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*June 3_** ** _rd_** ** _, 2012*_**

"Wow" Haley panted as Nathan rolled off her.

Nathan chuckled "I know."

Haley rolled onto her side, resting her hand against her elbow so she was hovering over Nathan slightly as she let out a soft giggle.

"What's so funny?" Nathan looked up at her.

Haley smiled "Had I known that sex could be like this, I would've done it a _long_ time ago."

Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley's waist, pulling her down to him.

"Like hell you will." He growled possessively, attaching his lips to hers again.

Haley pulled back after a few minutes "You really should go. Brooke's waiting."

Haley dropped her head to Nathan's shoulder, letting out a groan "Do I have to? I love her, but she's so nosy."

"You promised you'd tell her babe." Nathan shrugged.

"Actually, you did!"

…

 _"_ _Brooke!?" Haley exclaimed._

 _"_ _So this is the fuck buddy?" Brooke smirked._

 _"_ _I have a name Brooke." Nathan deadpanned._

 _Brooke bounced up and down and squealed as she looked at the two of them "I can't believe this! How long have you two been a couple!?"_

 _Haley shook her head "It's not like that Brooke."_

 _"_ _Then what is it like?" She frowned._

 _"_ _Brooke, can we talk about this later?" Haley groaned._

 _"_ _No way, I need details. How long has this been going on. When did you guys decide to –"_

 _"_ _Brooke, I promise we'll explain everything later, but we're both pretty tired right now."_

 _"_ _I bet." Brooke winked "I've gotta get Julian home anyways, he's had one too many to drink. We will talk about this later though." Brooke pointed her finger at Haley._

 _"_ _I promise." Haley nodded._

…

"I really wish she hadn't caught us."

Nathan frowned "You knew they'd find out eventually." He couldn't help but feel hurt by the thought.

"I know; I was just hoping we'd have more time to ourselves." Haley pouted.

"Well, unfortunately, it's time to face the music."

"Ugh fine." Haley whined, before leaning down to give Nathan a quick kiss "I'll see you tonight?"

Nathan smiled "Definitely".

* * *

Haley stood nervously outside of Brooke and Julian's house. She had been there for the past fifteen minutes, not 100% sure if she should go in. She didn't know how Brooke would react. She may be happy or supportive of their situation, she may not be happy with their situation, and tell Haley she and Nathan were friends and that benefits would only last so long before one of them developed feelings.

But that wouldn't be the worst thing, would it?

"Are you going to stand out there forever?" Haley jumped at the sound of Brooke's voice from the window.

"Yeah, sorry." Haley nodded, pushing the door open and walking in.

Haley sat down at the kitchen counter as Brooke poured them both a cup of coffee, staying standing across from Haley and leaning forward, her arms on the counter.

"So, explain." Brooke said.

And that's when Haley let everything out. She told Brooke about how they got together, Nathan finding out she was a virgin, the two of them agreeing to see each other but not define their relationship, how their friendship became more. She put all her cards on the table.

"Wow." Brooke said when Haley stopped talking.

"Wow?"

"Well, I mean, it's great that you finally let yourself have some fun! I've been trying to convince you to let loose since we were sixteen." Brooke explained.

Haley knew that wasn't it. "But?"

"But what?" Brooke frowned.

"I know you Davis, You want to say something more. Tell me."

"But… I worry about the ramifications. You and Nate are friends Haley, and you've been in love with him since you were sixteen."

"I have not-" Haley started.

"You can tell me you weren't but you and I both know you were, you still are. And that's okay, honestly I think you two would be amazing together. But Hales, I don't want to see you get your heart broken."

"I know." Haley whispers "I don't know what it is Brooke, but I just can't shake him. I tried not to fall for him but I did. And honestly, he's the first guy I've ever been with to make me feel special. I've had my heart broken so many times Brooke, I just want to see if I can do this."

Brooke sighed "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry Brooke, I'm not going to let my heart be broken again."

Brooke smiled sadly, reaching over and placing her hand over Haley's before she speaks.

"It's not your heart I'm worried about."

* * *

Lucas' hands rubbed nervously against his jeans as he sat in Lindsey's office, waiting for her to get back from a meeting.

He hadn't seen her since Peyton's opening night. He had promised to be a better husband, and that meant prioritising his family over his work.

"Lucas." Lindsey smiled as she entered the office "How are you?"

Lucas stepped back when Lindsey leaned in to hug him "I'm fine thanks, you?"

Lindsey frowned "Lucas, you don't have to be uncomfortable."

"I just think it's best we keep our distance." Lucas stated.

Lindsey took a step forward despite hearing his words "Luke, it was a moment of weakness. It's okay, You don't need to feel guilty."

"I was kissed by someone who wasn't my wife. Of course I feel guilty."

"Look, let's just move past it, okay? We've got a lot to do while you're here this week –"

"This week? I thought I was only here for today."

"You didn't get my email? We need you to stay until Saturday, there's a whole lot of stuff to do in organising the book tour."

"I can't stay for the week Lindsey, I told Peyton I would be home tonight. We've made plans."

Lindsey rolled her eyes "Well tell your wife that you need to stay here."

"I'm serious Lindsey, I can't stay this week. There has to be another way we can work this out."

"I guess we can teleconference." Lindsey sighed.

"Thank you." Lucas smiled "I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow before I head back then?"

"Yeah, sure." Lindsey mumbled as Lucas got up and walked out "Peyton fucking Sawyer. Ruins everything."

* * *

"So, how's everything with you and Julian?" Haley asked as they finished their coffee.

Brooke smiled brightly "We're getting married."

Haley's eyes widened "What!? Oh my god, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

"Well, he hasn't asked me yet." Brooke said sheepishly.

"What? How do you know he's even thinking about marriage then?"

"The Tiffany's box dropped out of his pocket when I was getting him home after Peyton's opening night."

Haley frowns "I thought he was upset with you that night?"

"He was. But I've been trying to delegate more and being at home more." Brooke says "Julian seems happier now, and I think he can see that I'm trying."

Haley nods "So, when do you think he's going to propose?"

"He's taking me out to dinner tomorrow night, so I think it's then!" Brooke squealed.

"That's awesome Brooke, I'm so happy for you. You're finally getting it all."

Brooke smirked "So will you, just you wait."

* * *

 ** _*June 4_** ** _th_** ** _, 2012*_**

"I'm so happy we finally got to do this again. I'm so sorry I keep bailing on our dinners." Brooke says as she and Julian walk into the downtown Italian restaurant.

"Me too, I've really been needing to talk to you." Julian smiles nervously as they sit down.

"I know, and I'm so sorry. You were right Julian, I haven't been around as much as I should've been, and I'm trying to fix that." Brooke replies.

They both talk for a while, catching up on Brooke's company and Julian's business meeting with some movie execs last week.

"I almost forgot, we have to extend our contract on the house for another next three months." Julian says.

"Well, we could always just … buy the house." Brooke mumbles behind her menu.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah?" Brooke says nervously "I've always wanted to move back to Tree Hill when I was done with college. I always thought it would be the perfect place to raise my kids."

Julian lets out a bright smile "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, let's do it." Julian nods his head.

Brooke's smile matches his, reaching over to hold his hand within hers.

"I love you Julian Baker."

"I love you too, Brooke _Penelope_ Davis." He chuckles.

…

"Well, I guess we should get going." Brooke says when the waiter comes back with their receipt at the end of their meal.

"Actually, there's one more thing I need to talk to you about." Julian stops her.

Brooke smiles, this was it.

"I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this for the past few weeks, and I couldn't. You know I love you, and I love our life here, but …"

Brooke frowns, this didn't sound like a proposal.

"I might have to leave Tree Hill."

"What?" Brooke exclaims.

"The movie that they offered me. It films in New Zealand. I'd be gone for six months." Julian explains.

"I- I thought that…You're leaving?" Brooke stuttered, completely thrown by her boyfriend's news.

"I won't be gone the whole time. The directors are completely open to me flying back to Tree Hill every few weeks, I can micro-manage from here. But, most of my time over the next six months would be spent there."

"You've known about this for weeks? Why didn't you tell me?" Brooke accused.

"I've barely seen you in the past three months since we've been in Tree Hill Brooke, when would be the right time to mention I had to leave?" Julian snapped back.

Brooke scoffed, pushing her chair back and getting up from the table.

"I have to get out of here." She said before dashing towards the door.

"Brooke! Wait!" Julian called out, but Brooke was already out the door.

 **A/N: So, I know there wasn't much content in there but I really wanted to update. I will not be updating as much for the next few months as I have my HSC coming up and need to focus on my studies. I will slowly work on new chapters but it could be a while.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think, and if there's anything you'd like to see. I'm kind of stuck for ideas right now.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry this took a month to get uploaded! I won't bore you with a long note but there is an important author's note at the end so PLEASE read that one :) Had a few requests for some more detailed Naley, so hope what I've written is okay ... !**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*June 5th, 2012*_**

"Brooke!?" Julian yelled storming into the house. He had spent most of the night searching for his girlfriend, she hadn't come home last night and he had spent majority of the night looking for her. He'd slept at about 3 am and gotten back up at 7 to go out and look for her.

"Brooke, are you here?" He continued to yell through the house. His eyes fell upon a piece of paper on the kitchen counter and he felt relief hit him as he read it.

 _I came home to change. Had to head into work, I'll be back later tonight.  
Sorry if I worried you, _

_Brooke._

Julian sighed sitting down at the breakfast bar. He knew his news had hurt Brooke, he hadn't even planned it. He was planning to _finally_ propose to her. But then his father called and told him about the movie, and Julian realised it was an opportunity he may not be able to pass up. He had put his life on hold since moving to Tree Hill and he needed to start prioritising his career as well, otherwise he knew this wouldn't last for him and Brooke.

He just wished she'd stayed around long enough to actually explain it to her. Julian grabbed his iPhone out of his pocket and clicked the first person on his favourites, waiting patiently as the phone rang.

 _"You've reached Brooke Davis, you know what to do."_ the voicemail rung out.

"Brooke, babe it's me. I saw your note, but I'd really appreciate if you could call me back so I know you're _actually_ _okay._ I really need to talk to you, _please._ Call me back. I love you."

Julian slammed his phone down onto the counter, letting out a yell in frustration. He took a few deep breaths before grabbing his phone and heading into the bedroom to pack his belongings.

* * *

"I can't believe we're watching this movie _again_." Nathan whined from his spot on the couch.

"Are you kidding me? This is the ultimate feminist movie!" Haley exclaimed "Besides, you know you love it."

Nathan smiled as he looked down at Haley. He was sitting straight against the couch, his legs on the coffee table in front of him with one foot resting over the other. Haley was curled up into his side, her head was resting on his his shoulder and her hand was over his chest with Nathan's arms wrapped around her torso with her legs spread out on the rest of the couch. He had never been so comfortable in his life, Nathan would be perfectly content to stay in their little bubble in the living room of Haley's apartment for as long as they could.

"Whatever." Nathan mumbled in reply, leaning down to place a gentle kiss into her hair.

Haley felt her cheeks flush at the intimate moment. She and Nathan had been having quite a few of those lately, for all intents and purposes they could be considered a couple. They walked hand in hand down the street, they went out for lunch and dinner, they spent all their time at each other's house, they called and texted each other constantly.

Haley couldn't deny that it was a comfortable situation they were in, but she couldn't allow herself to grow attached. She'd had her heart broken before and even though she was pretty sure Nathan wouldn't do that, she wasn't willing to open her heart up to that again.

"Hey." Nathan jostled her slightly as he moved "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

Haley shrugged in response "Just thinking about the past."

"You want to talk about it?" Nathan's voice oozed concern as he held her tighter.

Haley looked up at Nathan, their eyes meeting, and she felt the electricity running through them.

"No." she whispered leaning in "talking's the last thing on my mind right now."

And with that her lips brushed his, pulling him down towards her in their embrace. Nathan's lips moved gently over hers, his tongue brushing gently against her bottom lip seeking entrance which Haley eagerly granted. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before they pulled back for air. Haley pulled herself up so she was sitting next to Nathan and moved her hands to intertwine behind his neck.

"We should move this upstairs." Nathan breathed out.

Haley simply nodded her head, biting her lip nervously as she moved to straddle Nathan's waist on the couch. Nathan was taken aback, surprised by her bold move. With the exception of the back office at TRIC, they hadn't had sex anywhere other than their bedrooms so this was new for her.

"Hales, are you sure?" when he saw Haley nod it was all he needed before pulling her lips back to his again.

They were a mess of lips and tongue as they each savoured the others kiss. Haley's hands moved to comb through Nathan's hair pulling slightly every once in a while, as Nathan's hands moved over the side of Haley's body. He brushed his hands down her shoulders, over the sider of her shirt-covered breasts and down her side, before setting his hands on the top of her ass.

Haley moaned as Nathan squeezed her jean-covered bottom, his hands grasping firmly as she pulled her fingers through his hair. She let her lips go from his and detached her hands, pulling back to look him in the eyes and moved her hands down to the hem of her shirt pulling it over her head in one swift motion.

Nathan's eyes raked over her newly exposed torso, eyeing the red lace bra she was wearing. His mouth moved to kiss the skin of her neck gently biting and sucking the exposed flesh as he went. He travelled down her breasts, kissing the little dip between them making his way down her torso. He kissed over her belly button and the surrounding skin, making the butterflies flutter like crazy in Haley's stomach.

Haley moaned loudly as Nathan brought his lips back up to her breasts, using his teeth to pull down one cup and then the other exposing and pushing her breasts up to his eager mouth. He kissed over the soft mounds, pulling the left nipple between his lips and sucking gently as he massaged her other breast, pinching her nipple delicately between his fingertips. He alternated between each of her breasts for several minutes, eliciting guttural moans from Haley as her head fell back and her eyes fell shut allowing the sensations to take her over.

Haley's hands grasped at his shirt, pulling it over his head quickly and throwing it behind her. She ran her hands over his hard defined abs leaning in to place a few kisses over his defined muscles. Nathan's own hands moved down to the waistband of Haley's leggings, gently skimming the elastic material as his fingers slowly slipped in and out of the top of the waistband.

Haley moaned loudly as Nathan's hands worked their way down her body and his lips stayed on her breasts. She reached behind her to undo the clasp of her bra and pulled it off as well so he could have better access. Nathan's lips moved around her skin before pulling back, looking Haley in the eyes.

"Damn you're so sexy baby." He groaned out seeing the lust in her eyes.

Haley blushed slightly and smiled back before moving her lips onto his own again. She brought her hands down to near his own, making quick work of undoing the buttons of his jeans. Nathan pushed Haley back, her expression slightly confused as she was forced to stand up. Nathan's lips moved to trace from one hip across her stomach to the other, his hands ran up her thighs grasping the top of both her leggings and her underwear, pulling both down in one quick movement. Haley smirked at Nathan's movement and bent over to finish undo Nathan's jeans. Nathan lifted his hips up to allow Haley to pull off his jeans and boxers as well before she retook her position astride him.

Nathan let out a low moan as Haley sat back down on him, their lower halves rubbing against each other so intimately. He ran his hands through her dirty blonde hair, kissing her lips with as much passion as he could. Haley's hands rubbed up and down his forearms as she ground her hips against his, trying to persuade him to make move.

"Nathan, I need you."

Nathan smirked as he heard the need in her voice "Patience babe."

"Now Nathan, please." Haley growled against his ear before gently nipping at his earlobe.

Nathan's eyes shut and he let out a loud moan, giving into the sensations Haley was stirring within him. For someone who hadn't had sex up until one month ago Haley sure as hell knew how to take control. Nathan slipped one hand between their bodies, taking his manhood in hand and guiding himself to Haley's centre.

Haley lifted her hips up so Nathan could position himself, looking him in the eyes as she lowered herself onto him, both letting out cries of pleasure as they were finally joined. They stayed still for a moment, both enjoying the feeling of being so intimately joined before Haley started to rock her hips against Nathan. They met each other thrust for thrust, hands grasping at each other wildly trying to gain leverage, their lips fused together.

Haley's hands went over Nathan's shoulder to grip the back of the couch as she thrust against him harder. Nathan held onto her waist rolling his hips as she ground down against him, so that he could his her clit on every up motion. Haley's head fell back and she bit her lip hard to keep from screaming out in pleasure. Nathan always knew exactly how to touch her and she loved it.

"Nathan." She panted "I'm so close."

"I know baby, me too." He whispered back.

Their actions became more frantic, their bodies moving against one another faster and harder as they both tried to achieve their high. Haley could feel her body seizing as her orgasm built, she kissed Nathan again grabbing one hand from her hips and leading it back between their bodies. Nathan's hand rubbed against her clit, pinching and rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, and that was all Haley needed before her orgasm ripped through her.

She let out a loud cry as she felt her body's release hit her, she slowed her motions slightly, letting her orgasm ride out. Haley's head fell to Nathan's shoulder as her high subsided, momentarily blacking out about what she was doing. She could still feel Nathan, hard and moving within her, and that brought her back to the present. She lifted her head up and kissed down Nathan's neck, sucking on his pulse point. She rolled her hips against him as her kept thrusting into her, she could see on his face that he was close to his breaking point.

"Come on Nathan, come for me baby. Please, I want to see you let go." She whispered as seductively as she could while maintaining the most electric eye contact with him.

Nathan groaned at her words, the dams finally breaking as his release hit him. He cried out Haley's name, the rhythm of his hips slowing down as he rode out his own orgasm, Haley still moving with him as he did so. Nathan slipped out Haley's body, his head fell back against the couch and Haley's head resumed it's position on his shoulder as they both let their bodies relax from their highs, the only sound that of their panting breath.

Nathan's hand rubbed against Haley's bare back as Haley's eyes began to flutter, exhaustion taking over her.

"Nathan?" She whispered looking up at him.

"Hmmm?" He replied

"Can we go to bed?"

"Good lord, you want more?" He exclaimed

Haley let out a soft giggle "No! I'm just feeling really tired."

Nathan was quiet for a moment before nodding and wrapping his arms around Haley's waist as he lifted himself up from the couch. Haley let out a slight shriek at his actions and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs clutching around his waist. Normally she would've felt awkward about being so exposed with a man, but with Nathan it felt right. He made her feel safe and comfortable.

Haley's eyes closed again as Nathan held her body tight to his, he walked them into the small bedroom of her apartment and lay Haley down on the bed. He reached into the first drawer of her cupboard, grabbed one of his shirts and quickly placed it over her body before grabbing a pair of his boxers to put on. Once he had changed them both he pulled back the blanket on her bed and lifted Haley again placing her on the mattress and pulling the blanket over her before sliding into the other side of the bed and pulling her sleeping figure into his side. He wrapped his arms around her waist as Haley subconsciously snuggled into his side, her head moving to rest on his shoulder and her hand against his chest laying over his heart.

Nathan smiled and brought one hand up to intertwine with hers, smiling as he felt himself give into sleep.

* * *

"Peyton?" Jake called as he walked into the office. Peyton had called him in a frantic state, telling him she needed to meet with him urgently. He walked further into their office and stopped short as he saw Peyton trying to push their office desks across the room.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked.

Peyton stopped pushing the desk and looked up at him "Finally, I need your help. This office layout is so wrong I don't know what I was thinking, who puts office desks facing across from each other!?"

"Peyton." Jake walked over and grasped her arm pulling her towards him "What's going on?"

"I think my husband's cheating on me."

"...What?" Jake asked confused.

Peyton sighed and walked over to the couch in their office, Jake following closely behind her and sat down next to her.

"Peyton, explain this to me from the beginning." Jake says.

Peyton takes a deep breath running her hands through her hair "Luke's been acting really weird since the night of the opening. He's kept his promise, he's been trying to be there and he's making an effort to work from Tree Hill as much as possible, but I know him. He's acting ... guilty. Something's wrong and I can't figure out what it is."

"So, you're explanation is that he's cheating on you?" Jake says "Peyt, that's ridiculous. Lucas loves you. Why would he cheat?"

"He's been spending a lot of time with Lindsey, and maybe I'm acting irrational, but there's something going on between them."

Jake sighed "You're not wrong, I think Lindsey has feelings for him, but I know Luke doesn't feel the same Peyton. He loves you, he chose you to spend the rest of his life with."

A few tears fall from Peyton's eyes "I'm scared Jake. I can't do this on my own."

"Do what Peyton?" Jake asks as Peyton looks up at him.

"There's something else."

* * *

Brooke walks through the door of their house, dropping her keys in the little bowl on the table next to the entry. She kicks off her platform heels and pushes them to the side near the couch and walks down the hallway into her bedroom. She sees the clock on the wall as she enters the room, _11:42pm_.

She's quiet as she moves around, making sure not to wake the sleeping man in the bed. She reaches up to the top shelf of her closet, trying to grab her pyjama top but can't quite reach. Brooke groans in frustration before jumping slightly, grasping her shirt in her hand and pulling it down. However, she accidentally pulls out all the other clothes too, causing a slight _thud_ as they hit the floor. Brooke freezes, turning to see Julian stir slightly in bed but he doesn't wake.

She quickly changes her clothes and brushes out her ponytail before tip-toeing into bed beside, turning to face the window.

"I didn't think you were coming home." Julian mumbles sleepily.

Brooke grimaces slightly and turns to face him "I didn't mean to wake you."

Julian shakes his head, his eyes adjusting the the moonlight streaming in through the window. They're both silent for a few minutes, neither really knowing what to say. Julian breaks the silence first.

"Are we ever going to talk?"

Brooke looks down at the sheets below them "I guess now's as good a time as any."

They both sit up so that they can lean against the headboard but still face each other, Brooke the first to speak "I thought you were going to propose last night."

Julian frowns "How -"

"The ring fell out of your pocket when I was getting you into bed after the opening TRIC." Brooke explains "I just don't understand, I thought we were on the same page."

Julian lets out a sigh "Brooke...I wanted to propose. I kept scheduling dinner nights for us and you kept bailing halfway through or cancelling on me after you were already 45 minutes late."

"And that was enough for you to completely change your mind on marrying me?" Brooke exclaims.

"No." Julian shakes his head vehemently, grasping Brooke's hands within his "But, when you were out all those nights working, I realised that _I wasn't._ I moved here to Tree Hill to be with you, and I don't regret that. But I realised along the way that I've lost myself; I stopped working, I stopped doing anything really. And I realised that I couldn't ask you to marry me when, right now, I don't even know who I am."

Brooke's quiet, trying to take in everything Julian's just told her "I'm so sorry I made you feel like that."

"You didn't make me feel like that Brooke, I did. I could've taken a job at any time but I chose not to. That's why I want to do this movie in New Zealand."

Brooke nods her head "And what does this mean for us?"

"I'll still be travelling back and forth finalising things, I'll visit as much as I can and we can call, FaceTime, Skype. The internet is a marvellous creation Brooke." Julian chuckles.

Brooke smiles, tears in her eyes "I love you Julian Baker, you know that right?"

Julian nods "I do, and I love you too."

"I want you to be happy, and if doing this movie helps you to do that then I want you to go for it. And, I will try my hardest to come and visit you when I can. This relationship has to work both ways, and I need to start pulling my weight." She tells him "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too." Julian says pulling her in for a hug "I promise, one day I'm going to ask you to marry me Brooke Davis."

"You better." She chuckles through her tears, holding Julian tightly against her.

Neither knew what the upcoming months had in store for them, but they knew that they'd be okay as long as they had each other.

* * *

 _ ***June 9th, 2012***_

"You guys are the greatest, you know that?" Julian says as he hugs Nathan.

"Well, we couldn't let you leave without a farewell send off now could we?" Nathan cheered pouring the two of them a glass of Scotch each.

Julian rolled his eyes "I don't leave for another two days."

Lucas laughs as he joins in the conversation "Well, we all needed an excuse to party a little."

Brooke walks up to the group, followed by Peyton and Jake.

"Has anyone seen Haley?" Jake asks looking around the bar "We can't do a group toast without her."

"You're such a nerd Jakey." Brooke giggles "I think she's still talking to Jonathan."

Nathan's head snaps up from his drink to look Brooke in the eyes "Jonathan?"

Brooke smirked nodding her head as Peyton "Yeah, he's a pretty good-looking guy. Haley picked a good one."

Nathan's eyes scan the bar, finally spotting Haley standing on the other side of the bar. her hair was falling against her back as she let out a laugh, her hand falling to touch the man's shoulder. Nathan's grip on his glass tightened as he saw the guy lean in and whisper something in Haley's ear, watching as her cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"You're right Nate?" Lucas asked as he saw his brother's posture stiffen.

"Yep." Nathan ground out "I'm perfectly fine."

Brooke couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped her lips as she stood next to him and muttered "Yeah right."

Nathan scoffed at her words, but couldn't help looking over at Haley again as Jonathan brushed some hair behind Haley's ear.

"That asshole better back off." He muttered to himself. Nathan frowned as the words came out of his mouth. What the hell was that? He and Haley weren't dating, why was he feeling this way.

"When are you going to quit fooling yourself?" Brooke asked nudging his shoulder "You know you like her."

Nathan looked confusedly at her, then back at Haley and Jonathan. Was that what this feeling was?

"Oh fuck." he groaned. Brooke simply chuckled and patted him on the shoulder before walking off leaving Nathan to think.

* * *

 **A/N: OK! Sorry for the wait but I hope that was good! Next chapter will be a lot more Naley than the other couples so I hope you enjoy it! As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see for the next chapters and each couple.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, HSC is kicking my ass! Hopefully once my exams are over I'll be in a better headspace to write. Today was kind of shitty so I've decided to take a study break and instead write this chapter. Hope you like it!**

 **To answer one of my guest reviewers who was a bit confused about some thing, I'd like to clear up: Nathan and haley didn't keep in touch too much over the past 5 years and that WILL be explained in a few chapters time.  
They did both like each other growing up, and while their friends both knew they didn't tell each other. The whole 'monogamous friends with benefits' is more because they both want to protect themselves. Haley's had her heart broken before and Nathan is a bit scared of commitment.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ ***June 9th, 2012***_

Nathan skulled the rest of his scotch, absolutely fuming. He sat at his spot at the bar watching as Haley and Jonathan continued to speak. They had been having a conversation for the past half an hour and it was starting to get on Nathan's nerves. Haley kept sending flirty smiles and subtle winks his way but then keep talking to that prick in front of her. Was she just being friendly towards the dude, or was she trying to make Nathan jealous? Because the latter option was definitely working.

"Nate." Lucas said as he sat down next to his brother "Are you going to sit here acting like a jealous boyfriend? You and Haley are friends, so either go tell her how you feel or stop watching them."

 _'Friends. little do you know big brother.'_ Nathan thought. "I don't know what you're on about Luke, I'm fine."

"Please." Lucas scoffed "You've had a crush on Haley since you were a prepubescent teenager, and for some reason you never told her. Now clearly you still have feelings for her, so why don't you go tell her."

Nathan just shrugged as he skulled the drink the bartender placed down "She seems a little too preoccupied right now." he grumbled before sliding off his seat and walking out the door, ignoring the piercing eyes he could feel staring him down.

...

"Nathan!" Haley yelled as she ran after him down the stairs of the side entrance at TRIC "Wait up."

Nathan kept walking. He could feel the alcohol building in him and he needed to calm himself down before going back into TRIC or talking to anyone, especially Haley.

"I thought we were leaving together?" She asks when she finally catches up to him.

Nathan shrugs "I'll be back in, just needed to clear my head."

"Hey, is everything alright?" Haley's hand wrapped around Nathan's upper arm, and she frowned when she felt his body stiffen.

"Yeah all good. You go back in, I'm sure Jonathan's missing you." Nathan bit out pulling his arm away from her and kept walking.

"Are you jealous?" Haley giggled. She didn't realise that Nathan was taking this situation harder than she thought.

"No! I just find it funny you wanted to keep this whole arrangement monogamous, yet you're practically fucking each other with your eyes."

Haley scoffed "Are you serious right now!?"

"Well what am I supposed to think when you're spending all your time with him and ignoring everyone else!?" He yelled back, his self-control was starting to break.

"I was being nice! He came up and asked me to dance I told him I had someone waiting for me. Although I guess I should've clarified that I had an _arrangement_." She emphasised the last word with disgust. Was that all Nathan saw of their time together?

"I didn't mean it like that." Nathan sighed stepping towards her only for Haley to step back.

"Oh no! I mean, we did agree to just 'monogamously fuck around'. Here I was thinking that was so that we could see if there was anything between us! My mistake."

"Haley!" Nathan yelled as she moved away from him.

Haley turned around and began walking back towards the club, stopping for a second when she noticed all her friends at the top of the stairs waiting for her. Lucas walked down, patting her shoulder as he walked past and towards Nathan. Haley gave him a soft smile before continuing to walk up the stairs.

Lucas watched Nathan pacing back and forth outside. "What the fuck did I just do?" He said looking up at his brother.

"What you did was act like a total ass to a girl who is completely head over heels for you." Peyton said joining the two boys "She's in there downing drinks like there's no tomorrow, I hope you're happy with yourself."

"Back off Peyton." Nathan growled.

"Do you not even realise that you've hurt her? Do you even care?" She continues, she's not willing to let him get off that easy "Sleeping around together without being in a relationship, but still not being with other people. Dammit Nate I thought you moved past all this shit! This isn't high school anymore!"

"You don't think I know that!?" He yells back, his anger breaking through "I've spent the last 10 years of my life being hung up on Haley James! And when I _finally_ had the chance to be with her I freaked out. I didn't think that I would ever be good enough for someone as perfect as she is, and when she agreed to this whole monogamous friends with benefits I was so scared to lose that I didn't even think of stopping it. And now I may have lost any chance I have of being with her"

Peyton sighed as she watched Nathan break down. She walked over to him and bent down so she was face to face with him as he sat on the dirty gravel.

"You haven't lost her. But you did hurt her, so you're going to go walk the block for about half an hour and calm yourself down and then you're going to get back in that bar and tell Haley how you feel. Okay?"

Nathan was silent for a moment, before slowly nodding "Yeah, I think a walk's best."

"Nathan ..." Peyton spoke sternly, knowing he was ignoring the rest of what she'd said.

"I promise I'll talk to her, I just don't know what I'm going to say."

Peyton nodded in understanding before walking back to Lucas, taking his hand and walking back into TRIC as Nathan circled the block.

* * *

"Well, this has been an interesting goodbye party." Julian chuckled as Brooke sat on his lap in a booth in the back corner of the bar.

"It's not goodbye." Brooke spoke adamantly "It's just a 'see you soon' party. You're not saying goodbye."

"I'm not saying goodbye." Julian reiterated, leaning in to kiss her lips as reassurance of his words.

Brooke sighed and pulled back "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll be back before you know it Brooke, I promise." Julian whispered as their foreheads touched, their hands wrapping around each other tightly.

"Promise me you won't forget about me?" Brooke whispered nervously.

Julian frowned at her question "I could never forget you Davis. You're like a drug that just won't quit, I'm completely yours, forever. Okay?"

Brooke nodded "Okay." She agreed softly resting her head on his shoulder.

They were both silent for a few minutes, watching everything happening around them, and Brooke could feel her eyes start to droop as the alcohol hit her and her tiredness kicked in. But before her eyes could fully close she was jolted by Julian's laughter and shaking shoulders. She lifted her head up in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

Julian points to the bar "Do you think we should maybe stop her from drinking that much?" Just as he finishes speaking Haley sits down with a tray full of shots.

"Alright let's do this."

"Count me out. I've got an early flight tomorrow morning, I can't afford to be throwing up on a plane for 16 hours." Julian says. Brooke simply shakes her head to say no and Haley shrugs.

"More for me." She says downing one of the glasses.

"Haley ... do you really think this is a good idea?" Brooke said nervously.

Haley chuckles bitterly "You know Brooke, I've let you and Peyton do this so many times over the years. Every broken heart over Lucas or Chase or Jake...You were right, getting involved with Nathan like this was only going to get my heart broken. And I didn't listen, I told you he wouldn't hurt me, and I was wrong. So for tonight, I just need you to let me do this and just have my back while I do, like I did for you and Peyton."

Brooke smiles sadly, nodding her head "I got you tutor girl."

Haley simply nods and gives a small smile before downing another one of the shot glasses.

* * *

Nathan walks back into the bar, he'd been gone almost an hour which had been unintentional but he needed the time to think. Seeing Haley with Jonathan stirred something within him. He knew he felt jealous, but there was a little bit of him that was scared too. Scared to lose Haley. Maybe it wouldn't be to Joshua, but he knew that if he didn't sort things out with her, he'd lose her to someone else.

He walked through the bar with determination. He needed to see Haley, to make sure she was okay. He spots Brooke, Julian, Lucas and Peyton all at the booth where they had first sat down when the night began. He frowned when he realised Haley was the only one missing. He moves quickly towards them.

"Nate!" Peyton calls out when he's close enough "Finally! what took you so long?"

"Where's Haley?" He doesn't bother to answer Peyton's questions, he just needs to know where she is.

"Nate, I don't think now is the best time to talk to her." Brooke butts in "She's had a lot to drink..."

"I just need to see her Brooke, I need to make sure she's okay." He tells his friend.

Brooke shakes her head before pointing behind Nathan towards the bar, and he sees Haley drunkenly dancing with Jonathan behind her. He can feel the anger building within him as he walks over to the two of them.

"Hales." He says when he reaches her.

"Nathan!" Haley cheers giddily as she drunkenly stumbles into his arms, and Nathan feels a smug sense of pride surge through him when Jonathan scoffs, embarrassed and walks off. Nathan holds Haley tight, breathing in her lavender scent from her shampoo, remembering his hands running through her hair in the shower this morning when he put the shampoo in.

"You left." Haley states sadly looking up at him.

"I know, I'm sorry baby." He says "Come on, I think it's time we go home."

"Why? I thought you were done with me." He knows what she's saying is a result of the alcohol, but he can hear the raw pain and hurt in her voice, and it kills him to know that he's the one causing it.

"No, of course not. I'll never be done with you Haley James."

He feels Haley's head drop to his shoulder again, and he scoops her up in his arms and manoeuvres them out of the club, nodding his head in his friend's direction to say goodbye.

* * *

Nathan slowly gets out of the car, cautious not to wake Haley whose sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat. He opens her door and quickly reaches out as she starts to fall towards him as a result of leaning on the door while she slept. He picks her up as he did earlier and carries her inside her apartment and straight to her bedroom, setting her down on the bed and changing her out of the strapless dress and high heels she currently wore into one of his sleeping shirts that he'd left here.

He tucks her into bed and sits down, watching her sleep for a few minutes as his fingers link with hers in one hand. He hates the way tonight ended, he wishes he could take it all back but he knows that's not an option. Nathan's phone starts to buzz in his pocket and he quickly walks out of the room to answer it, stopping in the doorway when he hears Haley's voice softly calling for him and he turns around to face her.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"You broke my heart." She slurs "Why wasn't I enough?"

He feels tears build in his eyes as she rolls over and dozes back into slumber. He quickly hits the answer button as his phone rings again and rushes out of the room.

"Hello?"

 _"Nathan, it's coach Jones. We have a situation over here..."_

* * *

 _ ***June 10th, 2012***_

Haley groans as she slowly wakes, her stomach doing flip flops as she registers the sunlight streaming in from the window of her bedroom. She could feel the alcohol from last night make it's way back up and she quickly ran to the bathroom, just making it in time to empty out of the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

Haley lay down on the cool tile floor, taking in a few breaths. The whole night was a blur, the last thing she remembers is her conversation with Brooke, everything after that is hazy. she can hear her phone buzzing incessantly from where it's charging on her nightstand and taking one more deep breath she hoists herself up, flushing the toilet and rinsing out her mouth before walking back into her room and grabbing her phone, observing the 13 text messages from Brooke she quickly scrolled through them all realy only reading the last few.

 _Are you alive?_

 _Did you get home safe?_

 _You better call me by midday otherwise I'm filing a missing person's report._

 _Tell Boytoy I'll kill him if he didn't get you home safely._

Haley frowned at the last message, trying to remember last night's events. Nathan had taken her home. Her confusion grew even more when she realised he wasn't here. He would normally stay the night, even when they hadn't slept together. She looked around and spotted a piece of paper folder up on the pillow next to hers, her name messily scribbled on it.

 _Hales,_

 _Something came up, sorry I couldn't stay._

 _Nathan._

She looked at the note disappointed. Given last night, she was hoping for a better explanation that 'something came up'. She quickly looked back at her phone and clicked the number one on her speed dial, waiting patiently as the phone rang once, twice, three times, four -

 _"Hello?"_

"Nathan! Where are you?" Haley asked the minute she heard his voice.

 _"Hales."_ She could hear the dread in his voice _"I didn't think you'd be up yet."_

"Nathan, what's going on?" She wasn't in the mood for small talk, she wanted answers and now.

Nathan sighed as he looked at handed over his ticket _"look I've only got a few minutes before I board -"_

"Board?" She asked "Where the hell are you going?"

"Nino, my teammate, injured his knee over the break. He's out for eight weeks."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Haley said sincerely "So you're going back to check on him?"

"No. I mean, Yes I am, but that's not the reason I'm going back. My coach called last night after I put you to bed. He wants me to help him select someone to take Nino's place for the time being. He's holding tryouts this week, and since my position and his work together a lot on the court he wanted to make sure I liked the player he chose."

He could hear Haley's breathing on the phone, but when she made no attempt to speak he had to push "Haley?"

 _"So you were just going to leave? Without saying anything?"_ Nathan sighs hearing the anger in her voice.

"It was a last minute decision, and honestly I think this is good for us."

 _"What the hell does that mean!?"_

Nathan stared out the window of his seat in first class at the Tree Hill airport, his thoughts wandering back to the previous night "Last night Haley, arguing with you like that, I never want to speak to you the way I spoke to you last night."

 _"Nathan."_ Haley's voice is soft, calmer now _"We were drunk, we both said things at the club, we jumped to conclusions. It's okay."_

"But it's not Haley. The whole reason i avoid relationships is because I've never had any luck with them. I thought I couldn't do a relationship with you but it's clear that our current situation isn't working either."

 _"So what are you trying to say Nathan? You don't want to see me anymore?"_ Haley asked, and he could hear her throat catching as she tried to hold in her tears.

"I just think we should take this time to think about what we want. I'll be back by the end of the week, and I don't have to return for training for another four weeks. We can talk and figure everything out. I don't know what to do about us Hales, but I know that I can't be like my dad. I refuse to be the kind of guy yelling at a woman he's involved with outside a club and being so cruel to each other. I don't want that for us."

 _"Me either."_ Haley agrees.

"Okay, so then let's just take the week to think things through and be sure of what we want before we keep going, I don't want to break anyone's hearts."

Haley frowned again. Why did that sound familiar?

"Look Hales, my flight is about to take off...Take care of yourself okay?" Nathan said.

Haley nodded, although she knew he couldn't see her "Can I still call you and talk to you?"

"Of course. You can always call me Hales."

Haley sniffled softly, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall "Have a safe flight Nathan."

"Thanks, I'll see you in a week Haley." He said

"See you then." She agreed before hanging up and sitting down on her bed, the tears finally breaking through as she started to sob. Nathan let out a sad sigh as he turned off his cell phone, watching out the window as the plane started to lift in the air, as Tree Hill became a distant blob on the ground.

* * *

 _ ***June 11th, 2012***_

Brooke tried to hold in her tears as she and Julian neared the departures gate. She knew she couldn't go any further into the airport without a ticket, and honestly, she was tempted to buy one right now and board the plane with him. Or rip his ticket in half so he would miss his flight and would stay with her even if only for a few more hours.

She began to let go of Julian's hand when his voice stopped her "You know what, six months is a long time. I'm sure I can find work in Wilmington or even LA -"

"Julian, stop." Brooke spoke softly, moving her hands to hold his face so she had to look at him in stead of at the ground "As much as I hate it, you have to go."

"I don't want to leave you." He admits wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And I don't want you to go." She sniffled "But you told me that you felt you had put your life on hold, and that doing this movie would help you remember who you were and why you loved producing so much. And I love you too much to hold you back."

"You're not holding me back, I love you." Julian tells her.

"I know you do, I don't doubt that for a minute. But I want us to have a future together Julian, and I will never forgive myself if that future comes as a result of me holding you back from your dreams. You deserve to have everything you want out of life baby, and I don't ever want to stand in your way of that. So you're going to get on that plane and you're going to be the best, badass producer I know you are, and you're going to make me so proud. Okay?"

"Okay." Julian nods "I'm going to miss you Brooke Davis, like you wouldn't believe."

Brooke lets the tears fall as she gives Julian one last kiss goodbye "I promise I'll come visit, and I'll call you all the time okay? It'll be like you never left." She chuckles.

Julian lets out a laugh too but the joy he feels is cut short when the flight attendant announce that they're boarding the flight and announce his section.

"That's me." Julian sighs "I'll see you in a few weeks?"

Brooke nods "I'll see you then."

She watches him walk towards the flight attendant at the desk, but turns around and begins to walk away. She knows that if she watches him get on that plane her heart will break even more. She hears him calling for her and turns back around to see him running towards her. He sweeps her up in his arms and kisses her hard, pouring every ounce of love he feels for her into that one powerful kiss. Brooke's arms wrap around his neck as he slowly lets her slide down his body and her feet touch the ground. She pulls back breathless and whispers.

"What was that for?"

Julian simply smiles "I didn't want to leave it at a crappy sentence like 'see you next week'."

Brooke lets out a little giggle and gives him one more quick kiss "You better go before you miss your flight. I love you."

"I love you too." He says before rushing back to the desk to grab his ticket and board the plane. He turns one last time and waves at Brooke, blowing her a kiss as he walks through the door and out of her sight.

...

Brooke sits in her car for at least half-an-hour, crying hysterically. She takes a few deep breaths and tries to calm herself down enough to drive herself back home. She keeps trying to remind herself that this wasn't goodbye, he was coming back, she was going to visit him. They would be okay. Brooke took another deep breath and reached in her handbag to grab her cellphone, punching in the number she knew off by heart, the person who helped her so many times before.

 _"Brooke?"_

"Hales, I need you."

 _"I'll be right there."_ Haley said before hanging up and racing out the door.

* * *

 ** _*June 12th, 2012*_**

Peyton raced around the kitchen, making sure everything was ready. She felt like a bundle of nervous energy. She and Lucas had been doing well the past few weeks, and she decided tonight was the night.

She would finally tell Lucas that she was pregnant.

It seemed like a surreal moment when she had found out, she was so scared that she would raise this baby alone but Jake had instantly calmed her fears.

 _"You're pregnant?" He asked after hearing the news "Peyton that's- that's great! You and Lucas have been trying for so long to have a family, he must be so excited!"_

 _Peyton's eyes drop to the floor "He doesn't know."_

 _"What?" Jake exclaimed "You told your business partner and **ex-boyfriend** that you were pregnant before telling the **father** of you child?"_

 _"He hasn't exactly been around lately for me to tell him."_

 _"Peyt, you have to tell him."_

 _"I'm scared Jake." She quietly confesses, looking up to him as tears build in her eyes._

 _"I know hun, but Lucas is going to be so happy about this."_

 _"It's not that. I know Lucas will be excited when I tell him, but with everything that's going on ... I don't want him to feel trapped or obligated to stay with me."_

 _Jake sighed frustratedly "Peyton, Lucas loves you. He is not with you because he feels obligated to due to your marriage. He **wants** to be with you. If he had wanted to be with Lindsey, or anyone else, he would've told you. That guy loves you so much, believe me I know."_

 _"Jake ..."_

 _"Don't worry, this isn't some confession of my undying love for you. All I'm saying is I know what it's like to be in love with you Peyton Sawyer, and I know that Lucas loves you. You just need to trust in him."_

Jake had been right, as always. She had to stop doubting Lucas and questioning his love for her. He loved her. And he would love there baby even more. This would be a happy time for them.

"Peyt? You home?" Lucas yells as Peyton hears the front door shut.

Lucas walks into the room, shocked by the arrangement of food spread out over the kitchen table.

"What's all this?" He smiles looking at her.

"It's a special night, I wanted to make something special." Peyton smiles cheekily "And there's a theme to it."

"A themed dinner? I feel so spoilt. Thank you." Lucas walks over and kisses her gently.

"Do you mind if I go have a shower first though? i didn't expect to have to do physical demonstrations today." Lucas chuckled.

Lucas had recently been offered a coaching position for the Tree Hill Ravens by his old coach, Whitey Durham. He had happily accepted, needing some extra income to help them out while he kept writing and Peyton started up the record label. She didn't want either of them to be worried about finances while trying to chase their dreams.

"Take your time, I'm waiting for the oven timer to go off anyways." She said as he walked towards their bedroom, dumping his keys, phone and wallet on the kitchen counter.

"You're still making food!?" He exclaimed as he got into the shower.

"Just dessert, it's your favourite!" She called back to him.

She was in the middle of pulling out the chocolate fondant cakes when she heard Lucas' phone buzz. She ignored it and continued to decorate the little cakes, but when the phone buzzed twice more she reached for it.

"Luke, you're getting some texts!" She called out.

"If they don't say emergency on them ignore it! Tonight's our night." He called back.

She felt her smile widen ever more at his comment. He had really kept to his promise of making sure he was there for her ever since her breakdown on the night of the opening at TRIC. Peyton swiped the screen and put in the password before opening up his messages. One was from Nathan to let him know how LA was going, another from his agent reminding him of the meeting tomorrow to discuss his book tour, and the third one she opened was from Lindsey.

Peyton clicked on the messages one by one to make sure there was nothing urgent, and was about to exit when a previous message caught her eye. Curious, she scrolled up through the chat as her eyes took in the words on the screen.

 _That kiss will stay between us. xx_

Peyton felt the phone slip from her hands and crash towards the floor, the screen shattering into pieces.  
The same could be said for her heart.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay! Sorry if that ending was kind of shitty, but I didn't really know how to leave it and I wanted a bit of a dramatic end haha**

 **Hope you all enjoyed! I will try to have the next update in a few weeks, but wth exams I can't make any promises other than to try my hardest to not leave you hanging for too long!**

 **As always, please review, they make me very happy!**

 **Have a good week**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: back with another update! Thanks for the reviews last chapter, although I would like to address two comments from guest reviews...**

 **Sorry if the lack of happiness disappointed you but I never planned for it to be all sunshine and rainbows. There will be a happy ending and everything will be resolved in due time. Peyton finding out will not affect her choice to tell Lucas they're pregnant, however it may affect** **how** **she tells him ... Jake isn't trying to interfere with Leyton's relationship, and he's close to Peyton because they're still close friends and they run a business together. Peyton confided in him first because Lucas was being distant due to his guilt over the kiss and Peyton's choice to tell him was because she was emotional at the time and needed someone she trusted to confide in and both Brooke and Haley weren't there and have their own relationship problems to deal with anyways.**

 **Lastly, it was not my intention to write Haley as 'needy'. And she didn't purposely flirt with that guy AFTER she got drunk. BEFORE she got drunk, she was simply having a conversation with Jonathan and made it clear that she wasn't interested in anything further than a friendly conversation. She didn't think she was flirting with him and didn't realise that Nathan would be upset anyways.**

 **All the choices that I made in the last chapter served a purpose and if you're 'disappointed' in my chapter that's your own opinion, but please make sure you fully read the chapter and understand the context before you tell me I'm writing my characters as 'needy', 'desperate' or 'unrealistic'.**

 **I do not appreciate PM's or reviews telling me that my story is crap and I should not be writing it the way I am. How I choose to write my story is my choice, and whether or not you choose to read is your choice.**

 **I appreciate criticism but it should be constructive. Instead of telling me that I'm doing everything wrong, maybe try offering what you would like to see as I ask in my Author's notes almost** **every chapter.**

 **Thanks for those who wrote lovely reviews and gave constructive criticism and helpful feedback :) You guys are the ones I write for x**

 **Apologies for the long-ass author's note.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ ***June 12th, 2012***_

"Hey so I was thinking we could go and see Brooke later tonight? I know she's probably a bit down since Julian left today, I figured you'd want to be there for her." Lucas said walking out of the bedroom "Babe?"

Lucas frowned spotting Peyton sitting at the dining table, tears falling slowly down her face. He rushed to her, not even noticing his phone on the floor next to her.

"Peyt, what's wrong."

Lucas could see the pain in her eyes and his worry built further "You kissed Lindsey."

"What?" Lucas froze, not knowing what else to say.

"Don't play dumb." Peyton bit out pushing up out of her chair distancing herself from him "You told me to check your messages, I saw what she sent you Lucas."

"I didn't kiss her Peyton." Lucas replies "But ... She did kiss me."

"Unbelievable." Peyton muttered to herself shaking her head.

Lucas stared at her waiting for her to say something, saying her name pleadingly until she finally spoke again "How could you do this, lie to me?"

"I didn't lie Peyton, _She_ kissed _me_."

Peyton's jaw drops "Are you serious right now!? You think i care about _who_ kissed who?"

"What? I don't understand then." Lucas says confused "Why are you so upset Peyton, it wasn't on purpose."

"You kept this from me Lucas! This kiss happened _two weeks ago_! I asked you if anything was wrong so many times in those past two weeks, and _you lied_ right to my face! How am I supposed to trust you with anything!?" Peyton cried.

"It wasn't like that! I didn't want you to get hurt!" Lucas exclaimed frantically.

"Yeah, because that worked _so_ well for you didn't it!?" She spat sarcastically "I have to get out of here, this whole fucking night is ruined anyways."

Lucas watched as she grabbed her purse and car keys and headed for the door "Peyton please don't leave, look I know the night didn't go how you planned but please. Let's just sit and have dinner, and I can explain everything and you can tell me your news. Please."

"You want my news Lucas? I'm having a baby with a man that I can't trust anymore. There's my news." Peyton yelled, slamming the door shut leaving Lucas in a state of shock.

 _ ***June 19th, 2012***_

"I swear Hales, I love P. Sawyer-Scott with all my heart, but she and Lucas are driving me crazy." Brooke groaned dropping down at one of the student desks.

Haley chuckled softly at Brooke's dramatic flop into the seat "She's hurting Brooke, just give her some time. She and Lucas will sort things out eventually."

"It's not her staying that's the problem. I want to be there for her, but Lucas won't stop calling the house. He called at 2am once because he knew we wouldn't think to check the caller ID to ignore him! I need my beauty rest!" Brooke whined.

"If it helps, I'm going to see him tomorrow. I'll tell him to lay off the phone calls and give Peyton some time." Haley offered.

"You don't think I tried that?" Brooke responded.

Haley sighed turning to face Brooke "Tigger, Lucas knows you're team Peyton in this. You always have been when it comes to the two of them. No offence, but he and I have a stronger friendship, coming from me maybe he'll finally understand that we're not just telling him to back off because we're mad at him for the kiss, but because Peyton needs time to deal with everything."

"You're right." Brooke said annoyed "Okay, enough about me. What's going on with you and Lover boy?" She smirked.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Davis, he's in LA. Not much can happen in different states." Haley said.

"Oh please, have you never heard of Skype? There's some _very_ 'mind-in-the-gutter' situations you can get into the next time you two talk."

"That would actually require us to be talking." Haley mumbled under her breath, but Brooke heard her.

"Seriously. you guys haven't spoken in a week!?" Brooke exclaims.

Haley shrugged placing her books in the bottom desk drawer "We've traded a few texts, nothing much. We agreed to take some space Brooke, what do you expect?"

"You two were sleeping together! There were obvious feelings involved, that doesn't just dissipate into nothing Haley."

Haley's eyes narrowed at Broke "Okay. Firstly, there are students roaming the halls and they _do not_ need to hear about my sex life. Secondly, Nathan and I are fine. We're taking time to figure out what we want so we're limiting the amount of conversation between us. I'm doing fine Brooke, honestly."

"Well I just would've thought you'd have made more of an effort after telling the guy he broke your heart."

Haley froze "What did you just say?"

Brooke's eyes widened in realisation "You don't remember?"

"Remember what Brooke, what the hell are you talking about!?" Haley exclaimed.

"Alright, easy!" Brooke said jumping up from the desk she was sitting on and racing over to Haley "Nathan was talking to Lucas and Julian, and Julian told me-"

"Just spit it out Brooke." Haley snapped.

"Okay. When you were drunk, and Nathan took you home, he told the guys that you told him that he broke your heart. That you didn't understand why you weren't enough for him."

It hit Haley like a tonne of bricks. Their conversation. Her drunken words. His shocked, heartbroken expression as he took in what she said. It was all coming back to her, and she could feel the regret and panic building within her.

"Oh my god." She whispered as tears filling her eyes.

Brooke wrapped her in a hug as the tears fell "What the fuck have I done Brooke! He's never going to forgive me!" She sobs into her best friend's shoulder.

"Relax hun, it'll be okay. We'll figure it out together."

"I can't believe I said that to him. It was a mistake, he has to know that right?" She asks pulling away from Brooke.

Brooke just shrugs her shoulders "I don't know Tutor Girl, he seemed pretty hurt."

Haley groans "I really fucked up Brooke."

"Well, at least now maybe you two idiots will finally tell each other how you really feel and sort this shit out." Brooke retorts.

"Yeah, maybe." Haley laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes "Okay, I've got to get ready for my next class. Can we talk more about this later?"

Brooke nodded excitedly "Oh yeah, operation fix Naley is a go."

"Naley?" Haley laughed confusedly.

"Nathan and Haley, Duh." Brooke stated walking out of the classroom "I'll see you tonight Tutor Girl!"

Haley sat at her desk resting her head on her folded arms and closing her eyes. She took in a few deep breaths, trying to keep the nauseous feelings at bay. She had been feeling off the past few days but chalked it up to all the stress and emotions she's been feeling since Nathan left. She didn't know where they stood and now that she remembered how much she hurt him the last time she saw him, the anxiousness she had been feeling since his departure only seem to grow in size.

* * *

"So how are you settling in?" Brooke asked as she looked at Julian through her iPhone.

Julian nodded back responding "It's alright. New Zealand is a really beautiful place, I can't wait until you come visit next month."

Brooke smiled widely "I'm so excited, I've already been researching the tourist must-see sites. We can look them over them when you get here, what time does your flight leave tomorrow?"

Julian sighed, and Brooke instantly knew it was bad news "Brooke ... I don't know if I'm going to make it out there babe."

"Julian! This is the only time we have free to see each other, otherwise we have to wait until I come visit, that's _five weeks_ away!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I know Brooke, but there's a problem with some of the crew's visa applications and we need to get it all sorted before we start filming. We may have to hire new crew and everything, I just can't afford to leave right now. I'm sorry."

"You know what. it's fine." Brooke shook her head "Look, I've got to go for a meeting, I guess I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Brooke, are you sure you're okay?" Julian asked.

Brooke felt her throat tighten "Yeah. Bye Julian."

Julian smiled "Bye sweet-"

Brooke pressed the lock on her phone before he could finish his sentence. She could feel the tears starting to fall and quickly opened her phone and clicked the name she wanted, waiting patiently for the phone to ring.

"Hey what's up?" Haley answered the phone.

"Umm ... I just got off the phone with Julian, and ..." Brooke chokes up again

"Brooke?"

"Um, are you free tonight? I thought you, Peyton and I could have a girls night." Brooke asks

She can practically see Haley's smile "I'll bring the ice cream."

"No choc mint!" Brooke laughs

"Don't worry I'll bring you Choc chip cookie dough!" Haley exclaims.

* * *

"When was the last time we had a girls night in?" Brooke asks as she, Haley and Peyton are all cuddled up on the couch under a blanket.

"I think it was the night before we all left for college." Haley says.

"Wow, five years. A lot's happened in that time." Brooke says.

"One thing hasn't changed, we all still suck in relationships." Peyton said bitterly.

"Peyton, you and Lucas will figure things out. I know it." Brooke tells her friend.

"What exactly happened Peyton?" Haley asks "I mean, I know about the kiss. But when I talked to Lucas last night he said there was more to it."

"... I'm pregnant." Peyton whispered.

"What!?" Brooke exclaimed wrapping her arms around Peyton, Haley joining too "That's amazing Peyton!"

"It's not though!" Peyton started crying.

"Peyt, aren't you excited about this? You've been waiting so long to have a baby!" Brooke says.

Peyton shakes her head "I am excited about the baby. But, I just feel so betrayed right now. He lied to me, right to my face. How am I supposed to raise a baby with him!?"

"Peyton. Look, I know it's not my place to say anything but Lucas loves you. And I genuinely believe that he's sorry about the mistake he's made. You just need to decide whether you want to fix this together." Haley says.

"I don't know anymore." Peyton says sadly.

The room is quiet for a few minutes before Brooke decides to break the mood "Okay, enough of this sad soppy crap! Tell me everything about this baby."

Peyton laughs "There's not much to tell, I only found out a few weeks ago. I'd been feeling really sick, originally I had just chalked it up to stress and anxiety with setting up the opening night, but I realised I was late and then it was like all the pieces of the puzzle fell together."

"Still, it's so exciting Peyton. I'm so happy for you!" Brooke hugged her.

"Thanks." Peyton smiled looking over at their other friend "You alright Hales? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Brooke turned as well to see Haley frozen in her spot, her eyes wide. She shook out of her state and looked towards them "Yeah sorry, just remembered ... Um, I ... I have a meeting tomorrow that I forgot about."

Both Brooke and Peyton seemed satisfied with her answer, and got up to collect the ice cream from the freezers and put in another movie. Haley quickly pulled out her phone from her pocket and checked her calendar, silently cursing when she realised the date. She checked her texts when she noticed she had a new message. Opening it she groaned softly when she read Nathan's message.

 _'Hey, something's come up. Call me when you're free to talk.'_

Like things could get any more complicated.

 **A/N: Okay, so this isn't the strongest chapter I've written but I have a plan for the next few chapters. The next three chapter will cover the next week (in terms of dates) however each chapter will focus on each individual couple. Next chapter will be Naley, followed by Brulian, followed by Leyton. All characters will still be in each chapter, however each individual chapter will focus on the couple and their issues, with the other characters in the background a little.**

 **As always, please review they make me very happy.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A.N: Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're enjoying your holidays, no matter what you celebrate :)**

 **This is the Naley chapter. Hope you like it,**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*June 20th, 2012*_**

Haley sat on the bathroom floor, staring anxiously at the three pregnancy test lined up next to her. Three minutes. Three minutes, and she would know whether or not her whole life was changing.

'God I wish Nathan was here right now.' She thought to herself. Haley picked up her phone, clicking on the first contact in her favourites list. She needed to hear his voice right now.

"Hello?" Nathan groaned through the phone.

"Hey." Haley replied "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No not at all." Nathan quickly replied sitting up in bed.

Haley let out a soft giggle "Its 1 am Nathan, of course I woke you up."

"Okay, maybe you did. But I don't mind. I miss you Hales."

"I miss you too." Haley smiled softly "I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. What did you want to talk about?"

"Um, I've got to stay in LA for another week. Picking a replacement for Nino is a little harder than we expected it would be."

"Oh."

"Is that a problem?" Nathan asked.

'No big deal, I just think I'm pregnant with your kid.' Haley thought before answering "No, it's fine. I guess I'll see you in a week then?"

"… Are you okay Haley? You sound … I don't know. Off."

Haley chuckled to herself; Nathan always could tell when something was going on with her.

"I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping very well these past few weeks, that's all."

"Okay … If you need anything, don't be afraid to call okay?"

Haley nodded "I will, thanks."

"Goodnight Hales."

"Goodnight Nathan."

Haley hung up the call and set her phone back down, noting that five minutes had now passed. She sat for a few more moments, trying to prepare herself for the results.

"Alright Haley, let's do this." She muttered picking up the pregnancy tests and turning them over to see the results.

* * *

"Dude. I can't believe you're making me an uncle, and I'm practically the last fucking person on the planet to know!" Nathan laughed.

"Yeah well things have been a little hectic, what with my pregnant wife leaving me." Lucas replied through the phone.

Nathan rolled his eyes "quit being such a drama queen. She's hurt and upset, rightfully so."

"But I didn't kiss Lindsey. SHE kissed ME!"

"Luke it doesn't matter. You still should've told her about it!"

Lucas let out a heavy sigh "I know. I just didn't want to hurt her you know? Things have been going so well between us, and she was FINALLY letting go of this jealousy she has over mine and Lindsey's friendship."

"Should she be?" Nathan asked.

"No!" Lucas exclaimed.

"... look man all I'm saying is, there's a reason you let Lindsey get so close to you. A reason you didn't make 100% sure that it was clear to her you weren't interested."

"Are you saying I CHOSE to hurt my wife like this? That I'm secretly in love with Lindsey?" Lucas scoffed.

"No. I'm just saying that there's obviously some underlying issues that you need to resolve. And for the sake of your marriage, you better figure them out fast."

"God you sound like Haley with this psychoanalyst bullshit. You two have been hanging around each other too much."

Nathan let out a chuckle as he heard a knock on the door. "So what do you know so far about the pregnancy?"

Nathan listened intently as Lucas told him all he knew about his future niece or nephew. He sported the biggest smile as he opened the door, only for his face to turn to one of shock.

"Lucas I need to call you back."

"Yeah that's coo-" Nathan hung up before he could say another word.

"Hi Nathan." Haley smiled timidly.

"Hales. What are you doing here?" He asked her.

Haley shrugged before shyly replying "I couldn't wait another week."

It was all Nathan needed before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him, his lips instantly seeking hers. Haley's bag dropped off her shoulder as they both stumbled through the doorway, Nathan barely shutting the door behind him.

They collapsed onto the bed, both refusing to let the others lips go. After a few minutes, neither could ignore the need for oxygen and they pulled away breathlessly.

"I'm so happy you're here." Nathan smiled breathlessly.

"Well then I think you're about to be even happier. I'm staying with you for the whole week."

"Seriously!?"

Haley nodded biting her lip to keep her smile from stretching too far "surprised?"

"Definitely. But in a good way." Nathan said kissing her again "I've missed you baby."

* * *

 _ ***June 22nd, 2012***_

"Well I've definitely missed that!" Haley giggles breathlessly as she cuddles her naked body up to Nathan's.

Nathan chuckled softly kissing the top of her head "I can't believe you're in LA for the week. This is so exciting,

"I can finally come see where you practice." Haley replied.

"You're not worried the paps will think you're my girlfriend?" Nathan teased.

"... would it be so bad if they did?"

Nathan sat up in the bed, turning to look down at Haley "What?"

"It's just ... this past week has made me realise how much I've missed you, how much I need you in my life. This whole 'monogamous friends with benefits' crap was just a way to protect myself, I've been hurt before and I didn't want to risk having that happen again. But I want to take the risk with you Nathan."

"Haley ..." Nathan said speechless.

"I've had a crush on you since we were kids Nathan, and I think I'm falling for you. In fact, i know I already have.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'd like to be your girlfriend. If you want to?"

Nathan leaned in and kissed her fiercely, quickly pulling away before replying

"Damn right I want to."

* * *

 _ ***June 23rd, 2012***_

"Nathan are you sure we should be out like this?"

"Babe relax, I've got it covered." Nathan laughed.

He and Haley were walking in Echo Park Lake holding hands as they strolled casually down the walkway, Nathan donning a cap and sunglasses to hide his face somewhat.

"I cant believe you didn't take me here the last time I came." Haley exclaimed "this is beautiful."

"Yeah, my view ain't so bad either."

Haley looked towards him to see Nathan looking straight at her, and she could feel the automatic blush that spread over her face.

"You're so cheesy." Haley giggled.

"You know you love it." Nathan replied confidently.

Haley leaned up, her lips almost touching his "maybe I do." She said giving him a kiss.

Nathan groaned slightly "god i can't believe we didn't do this sooner."

Haley chucked "Make out in the park?"

"No." Nathan scoffed "I mean this. Us. Being together. I can't believe we didn't admit our feelings earlier."

"Me either." Haley whispered kissing Nathan again before continuing their walk.

"Is it weird that our relationship starts when both Brooke and Julian and Peyton and Luke are struggling so much?"

Haley laughed before asking "where did that come from?"

Nathan shrugged "I dunno. I was talking to Luke before you came in, and he and Peyton aren't doing too good. I can't really see them getting past this."

"They're one of the strongest couples I know. They'll find their way, she's just having trouble trusting him right now. But she loves him, and they're having a baby together, Peyton wants to be with him she just needs to know that Lucas wants her and not Lindsey."

"He does." Nathan said.

"I know he does, everyone knows. Lucas just needs to convince Peyton. They were already having troubles beforehand, and Lucas kissing Lindsey just brought back all those insecurities Peyton was already feeling." Haley explained.

"Well, hopefully they fix things soon." Nathan said, seemingly putting an end to the conversation.

Haley felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, pulling it out and checking the number before putting it back into her pocket. Nathan frowned watching her.

"Who was that?"

Haley shrugged nonchalant "Unknown number, probably just a telemarketer."

"I hate those." Nathan groaned

Haley simply chuckled as they continued to walk.

...

Haley and Nathan had stopped to have lunch at a restaurant near the apartment, Nathan insisting he take her out for a proper meal to celebrate his new girlfriend. Haley excused herself, telling Nathan she was running to the bathroom, stepping into the corridor leading to the restrooms before pulling out her phone and clicking on her missed call.

"Hey." Haley said.

 _"Did you tell him yet?"_

"Brooke." Haley sighed "I don't know if I can."

 _"Hales, we already discussed this. No matter what your results say, Nathan needs to know the truth."_

"You know, I'm very surprised you haven't bugged me for the information." Haley said suspiciously.

 _"It's not my news to know. It is, however, Nathan's."_ Brooke said _"you got to tell him Haley. Promise me you will."_

Haley sighed "I promise, I will." She said before saying her goodbyes quickly hanging up and heading back to Nathan.

 **A/N: So, I know everyone's wondering if Haley's pregnant or not, but I'm going to let that simmer a little longer before I reveal the truth (*Laughs evilly*)**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, I know it's a bit shorter but I jsut wanted to get an update out before the end of the year. I'll try to do a longer one for next chapter; The Brulian chapter!**

 **PLEASE leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry I've been so MIA with updates and everything, I've been really busy lately and a bit sick. I'm working on a few new Naley one-shots and stories which I'm hoping to have up in a few weeks! This story is looking to be about 25 chapters, so I will try to finish it within the next two months. Anyways, thank you for all your reviews and messages they mean so much :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*June 20th, 2012*_**

"Hales, you know you need to tell him soon." Brooke says as she pushes through the crowds of people at LAX.

 _"I promise, I will Brooke. Anyways, how far are you now?"_ Haley asks through the phone.

"Well, it's like a 12 hour flight with a stopover, so I probably won't get there until tomorrow morning." Brooke sighs.

 _"I can't believe you're surprising Julian, he's going to be so excited!"_ Haley exclaimed excitedly.

"I hope so." Brooke says nervously "We haven't had a chance to talk, he's been so busy. What if me coming is a huge inconvenience?"

 _"Brooke, that boy loves you. I guarantee he'll be happy to see you."_ Haley replies.

"You're right. I'm being ridiculous." Brooke says trying to convince herself "Okay, my flight's boarding I got to go. Have fun with Boy Toy."

 _"I love you Tigger."_ Haley chuckles.

"You too Tutor Girl. Bye." Brooke says before hanging up and handing her ticket to the flight attendant before boarding the plane, all the while hoping that she was making the right decision.

* * *

Julian yawned as he walked into the living room of his room at the Amity Court Hotel. They had spent the last eight hours filming near Mount Taranaki, the director was insistent that they needed the location as the background for the pivotal scene of the movie. Sometimes he questioned whether it was even worth doing this movie. He was the producer, he was supposed to be the one making the final decisions, yet their director Avery kept overriding him. His dad provided funding for the film, and money spoke a lot more than hierarchy in this situations apparently.

Julian was laying on his bed, on the verge of sleep when he heard a knock on his door. He sighed annoyed and contemplated not answering at all, except the person kept knocking and it seemed they had no intention of leaving until he opened the door. Julian got up with a groan and got up to open the door, coming face to face with Alex Dupre; the female lead of the character.

"Hey!" She said cheerily.

Julian chuckled slightly. He and Alex had become friends over the past three weeks, she reminded him of Brooke in some ways and it was a comfort. He missed Brooke like crazy everyday, and he grew more frustrated each day that they went without talking, but filming had been crazy and the few moments that they did get to talk were few and far between.

"How can I help you this time Alex?" Julian asked.

"A few of us are going out tonight, you're coming." Alex said.

"Uhh no I'm not. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted as all hell." Julian groaned.

"Oh come on, you know you want to." She smirked back placing her hand on his upper arm.

There was a silent moment, Julian and Alex just staring as he tried to find a way to end the now uncomfortable moment, when he heard someone clearing their throat.

"Excuse me, but I believe you're in my room." Julian looked to his left to see Brooke standing a few feet from him a cheeky smile gracing her lips.

"Brooke." Forgetting about his coworker, Julian ran the few steps to Brooke and scooped her up in his arms spinning her around as he hugged her tightly. Brooke hugged him back just as tight, although her eyes didn't leave the woman standing in their doorway.

"I can't believe this, I thought you couldn't come for another two weeks?" Julian asked surprised.

Brooke shrugged slightly "I moved my schedule around, you're stuck with me for a whole three weeks."

Julian smiled widely kissing Brooke deeply, forgetting they were still standing in the hallway as his hands trailed up her back under her shirt while Brooke's hands raked through his hair.

"Ummm okay." Alex said breaking the two apart "This is getting a bit too M rated for me."

"Sorry." Julian said breathlessly "Brooke, this is Alex Dupre. She's playing the female lead for the movie. Alex this is Brooke Davis, my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Brooke said extending her hand out to the younger woman.

"You too, I love your clothes line!" Alex said cheerily.

Brooke smiled tightly "Thanks."

"Well, I'll get out of your hair. I'm sure the two of you have a lot of catching up to do." Alex said with a wink slapping Julian's butt as she ran past them "Have fun!"

Brooke looked up at Julian, her eyebrow cocked up in that way she does watching Julian's cheek redden slightly "She's very ... touchy-feely sometimes."

"Clearly." Brooke said wrapping her arms around Julian's mid-section "Doesn't she know better than to touch what's mine?"

"Yours?" Julian asked.

"All. Mine." Brooke smirked kissing him again.

"I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you so much." Julian mumbled against her lips.

Brooke pulled him back with her as she blindly walked towards the still open door of their hotel room "Why don't you show me just how much you missed me then?"

Julian stopped abruptly, pulling back and grabbing Brooke's abandoned luggage bag in one hand, before wrapping his other arm around her thighs and lifting her over his shoulder.

"Julian!" Brooke laughed smacking his butt, only for Julian to drop her bag in the room and do the same to her "Put me down!"

"All in good time baby." Julian said as Brooke's laughing increased.

 _'Damn, I've missed that sound.'_ He thought happily as he shut the door behind them.

* * *

 ** _*June 21st, 2012_** ** _*_**

"So you never told me what this movie was about." Brooke said as she and Julian lay wrapped up in bed later that night.

They had spent the entire day before getting reacquainted with one another, going out for dinner and catching up on each other's lives. Then today Julian took her to the film set and showed her around, introducing her to a few of his coworkers.

"You really want to know?" Julian asked shyly.

Brooke frowned "Of course. Why would you think otherwise?"

"I don't know. You seemed pretty upset about me leaving for this movie, I just thought you would want to know as little as possible."

"Julian..." Brooke sighed lifting her head from his chest and sitting up looking at him "Maybe I was upset at first, but I'm not anymore. Yes I miss you, all the time, but I understand why you wanted to go. Why you _needed_ to go. And as long as this makes you happy, then I'm happy."

"I love you so much." Julian smiles

"I love you too." Brooke says "Now, tell me about this movie."

"So basically, the movie is about a girl who thinks she's found the love of her life. But when he breaks up with her she doesn't know what to do with herself, she doesn't know who she is – She's spent the past six years of her life with him and she doesn't know how to be on her own. So she starts hanging with this coworker who loves being single, and she slowly starts to realize she can be on her own. She makes a few mistakes and falls but she gets back up every time and keep pushing. This friend of hers helps her to be herself, and she realizes that she doesn't need to have a man in her life to define who she is. It's this whole coming-of-age story about self-acceptance and learning to value your own self-worth."

"Wow. That's amazing Julian." Brooke said in awe.

"Yeah, now we just need to get it into a music festival, get a buyer and then the next eight months of work won't have been for nothing." He chuckles.

"It's going to be amazing, you'll do amazing Julian." Brooke's words spoke volumes, the tone of her voice emphasising her compassion and confidence in his abilities.

"I love you so much, you know that right?" Julian says.

"Yeah I do." Brooke smiles leaning in to kiss him "And I love you too."

 ** _*June 23rd, 2012*_**

"Hey!" Brooke said cheerily as she saw Julian walking towards her on the filming set "You ready to go?"

"I'm so sorry Brooke, there's an issue with the wardrobe, I've got to go deal with it." Julian huffed "You would think the designer would know not to make Alex look like a dime-store hooker in a movie that's about seeing through the vanity and pretentiousness of society but apparently I have to explain that to her _again_!"

"Well you know, It's a good thing your girlfriend is a … mildly … successful fashion designer. I can help you out." Brooke offered.

"Seriously?" Julian asked sceptically "You wouldn't rather go sight-seeing or something?"

"If you need help then let me help you. Besides, I do this for a living, it's not like I don't enjoy it." Brooke said cheekily.

"You're amazing." Julian said gratefully "Thank you."

Julian showed Brooke in the direction of the wardrobe department on set before heading to the editing room to deal with yet another issue. She was just outside the dressing rooms when she heard something which stopped her in her tracks.

"You know that Julian has a girlfriend, right?" She heard a woman ask.

"Oh please, Brooke Davis is not a threat to me. Besides, she's living back in North Carolina, she isn't going to get in my way."

Julian walked into the wardrobe department an hour later, spotting Brooke working on a floor length dress that Alex's character wears in one of the first scenes of the movie.

"Hey baby." She says kissing the top of her head.

Brooke shrugs him off, standing and taking the dress off the mannequin placing it back on the rack of clothes for Alex.

"Are you okay?" Julian asks.

Brooke nods quietly gathering her things up and preparing to leave. Julian stares at her confused, but follows her out anyways and heads to the car so they can drive to the hotel.

The car ride is silent, Julian waiting for Brooke to say something. He reaches over to take her hand in his but she pulls away and crosses her arms over her chest looking out the window. Julian sighs frustrated and pulls into the carpark of the hotel, turning the engine of the car off and turning to face Brooke.

"Can you please tell me what's going on? You were fine when I left you this afternoon." Julian asks.

Brooke huffs undoing her seat belt and grabbing her bag "I'm just tired. It's been an unexpectedly long day."

"Is this about helping me on the set? I'm sorry if that wasn't the afternoon you had planned –"

"It's fine Julian. I just want to go to sleep please." Brooke cut him off exiting the car and leaving him sitting there even more confused.

…

Brooke lay in bed facing the window so as not to have to make conversation with Julian. She didn't know why she was angry with him. Her issue was with Alex, not Julian, so why was she being a bitch to him?

She heard the door to the bathroom open as Julian finished his shower. She turned even further into the bed, her head pushing further into the pillow so he couldn't see the tears brimming in her eyes.

Julian slid on his boxers and climbed into bed next to Brooke, laying on his back with his head turned staring at Brooke. He knew she wasn't asleep; Brooke always had a light snore when she was sleeping and she could never sleep on her side, she was always too uncomfortable and normally ended up on her back or lying on her front half on top of Julian's chest.

He gave in after a few minutes, craving the warmth of her body, and rolled onto his side to wrap his arms around Brooke.

"Thank you for today. I don't know what I would have done without you." He whispered into her hair.

It was quiet for a few moments until he heard a soft sniffle, and leaned over seeing the tears streaming down her face. He rolled her over so she was cradled in his arms fully, resting her head on his chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked softly

"I'm…sorry." She sniffled against his chest "I didn't mean to be rude to you."

"It's okay baby." He spoke softly "Talk to me, tell me what's going on."

"In the dressing room, I overheard Alex talking to some girl…"

Julian frowned "About what?"

"You…About how she wants you. I don't know why, it just made me so mad. I know you wouldn't do anything, but I'm not here. I want to trust you, but I guess my past experiences just make me weary." Brooke explained.

"Brooke, I promise you, I don't want Alex. You're the only woman I want, for the rest of my life."

"I know." Brooke sniffled "I just … I need to learn to be more trusting of you. I want to be, it's just hard."

"I know it is. But as long as you believe in me, that's all I need." Julian said holding her tighter.

"I love you Julian." Brooke whispered as her crying settled.

"I love you too Brooke." Julian said sitting up "Now, enough crying. Tonight is your last night, let's go out to dinner or something, I want to make your last night special.

Brooke smiled "You're amazing."

"Tell me something I don't know." Julian smirked "Now go get ready, I have an idea."

 **A/N: Okay, so that was a bit of an odd ending, but I wanted to show how Brulian is improving and how though the distance, they're still working on the problems that were already existing and are persevering to be together.**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, please leave me a review!**

 **Hope you're all having a good week.**

 **Maddie :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Okay so this time my excuse is better; I was in Paris (MEETING SOPHIA FUCKING BUSH!) and have not had wifi for the past three weeks! Before that I was just really lazy and unmotivated lol. I feel like the Leyton readers may be a little upset/disappointed with this chapter but there is a reason it is the way it is, which I will explain further at the end of this chapter :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _*June 20_** ** _th_** ** _, 2012*_**

"Are you two seriously still not talking?" Jake said as he watched Peyton click the lock button on her phone, silencing the buzzing of a phone call for the tenth time that morning.

Peyton simply ignored her partner, continuing to sketch in her art book as he set up the recording studio.

"You know I love you Peyt, but you can't stay with me forever. As much as Jenny enjoys your company, you have a husband who loves you and misses you."

"I'm sure Lindsey's keeping him company." She grumbled back.

"Peyton." Jake sighed walking over to kneel down in front of her "You know he doesn't love her. When are you two going to talk things through? You haven't even given the guy a chance to explain."

"They kissed Jake!" Peyton exclaimed slamming her book down "He should've told me!"

"I'm not disagreeing with you P." Jake said following after her as she started to storm out of the room "But you know it didn't mean anything to him. Why won't you at least give him a chance to make things better?"

Tears welled up in Peyton's eyes "I'm scared Jake. What if this isn't what he wants anymore? What if _I'm_ not what he wants anymore?"

Jake walked towards Peyton and enveloped her in his arms, letting her cry into his shoulder "Peyton. If this, your life together, wasn't what he wanted then he wouldn't be trying so hard to get you back."

"He cheated on Brooke with me. Maybe this is karma's way of kicking me in the ass for screwing over my best friend." Peyton mumbled into his shirt.

Jake chuckled softly "P, it's ancient history. All of that drama, it only happened because Lucas was hiding. He was protecting his heart because he knew you had the capacity to break it. I'm not saying he didn't love Brooke, but you were always in his heart. It's why they never worked out, even Brooke knew it. This isn't history repeating itself hun."

Peyton stood in Jake's arms for a few minutes, letting her tears subside. She took a few deep breaths pulling away from him and wiping her eyes.

"Just hear him out P. You two have fought too hard and come too far to lose it all over a misunderstood moment." Jake said.

Peyton nodded her head, not trusting her voice. Jake smiled and patted her shoulder reassuringly before exiting the studio, giving Peyton some time to herself. He turned to make sure she couldn't see him before pulling his phone out of his pocket and calling Lucas.

 _"Jake? Is everything ok with Peyton? Is the baby -"_ Lucas' panicked voice came through instantaneously.

"Everything's fine. She's feeling pretty vulnerable right now, but I think she's ready to talk. I'm going to take Jenny to my parents for dinner, why don't you swing by and see if you can talk your wife around." Jake said.

 _"Wait, when did Peyton come to your place? I thought she was staying at Brooke's"_ Lucas asked confused.

"Brooke was worried about leaving her here while she went to visit Julian, so I offered her to come stay with us until Brooke got back so that at least Brooke wouldn't cancel her trip - That's not the point!" Jake exclaimed "The point is that your wife is pregnant and lonely and needs her husband. And you need her."

Jake could practically hear the smile that Lucas was wearing _"You really think she's ready?"_

"I think it's about the closest you're gonna get right now. She just needs to know this is what you want Luke."

 _"It is. It always has been."_ He answered.

"Good, then come get your girl back." Jake replied before hung up.

* * *

Lucas stood nervously at the front door of the Jagielski house, lowering his raised fist from the door once more. Jake had bought a cosy three bedroom apartment for him and Jenny on the same street his mother's cafe was on. It was almost 7:00 and Lucas had been standing outside for almost twenty minutes. He raised his hand to knock once again but was cut short as the door opened before him, his wife standing in front of him.

Lucas stared Peyton up and down, taking in her appearance. Her skin was pale, and it was evident that she had been throwing up, most likely her morning sickness Lucas thought. Her wavy curly hair was tied up in a barely held together bun on the top of her head, little tendrils falling out all around. She was wearing one of his shirts and her pyjama pants, and Lucas could notice the tiny bump that was emerging on her lower stomach and he could feel the warmth that spread through him at the thought of Peyton carrying their baby.

"Are you planning on knocking or are you just going to stand out there all night and freeze your ass off?" Peyton snarked at him.

"Can I come in?" He asked quietly, and when Peyton walked back into the house leaving the front door open he took that as a 'yes'.

He followed her inside barely pushing the door shut behind him, walking through the living room and down the hallway to the bedroom at the end of the corridor where Peyton had been staying.

Peyton sat down on the bed as Lucas spoke "How are you?"

Peyton rolled her eyes "Oh I've been just dandy."

" ... You're starting to show. That's exciting, when's the next doctor's appointment? I was hoping I could come and see -"

"Did you seriously just come here to ask about when my next OBGYN appointment is?" Peyton cut him off.

"Look Peyton, you haven't been home in over a week. I've been worried sick about you _and_ the baby. So yeah, if you're insisting on not staying in our home then I'm going to ask how you are and check in on the baby." Lucas sighed "I miss you Peyt. I'm so sorry baby. You have to know I never did any of this to hurt you!"

"You lied to me Lucas. After everything we've been through with Lindsey, everything we did to Brooke. Did you really think I wouldn't have a problem with you lying?" She exclaimed.

Lucas sat at the foot of the bed facing Peyton "I promise, I was going to tell you. I kept trying to find a good moment, and things with us were already so rocky, I didn't want to push you further. You'd been so stressed and I knew as soon as I told you it would cause you more unnecessary pain, I just wanted to spare you that Peyton."

"But you didn't Lucas!" Peyton cried "By not telling me, you just made it worse!"

Lucas scooted forward as Peyton started to cry, scooping her up into his arms. His hand ran up and down her back while the other brushed through her hair soothingly as he whispered 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' over and over.

"Peyton, something else is bothering you. It has been long before this kiss, but you kept insisting everything was okay." Lucas said after a few minutes "Talk to me. We're never going to get past this if you don't open up to me too."

"I'm scared" Peyton sniffled "We'd been trying to have a baby for so long, and we were both miserable. We weren't the same as we used to be when we first got married Lucas, all that stress ... It changed us. And then Lindsey came along with her book offer and her friendship, and you were happy again. When I found out I was pregnant it was the happiest moment of my life, and all I wanted to do was tell you. And then I found out about that kiss and all those doubts that I had when Lindsey first came into our lives came rushing back."

"What doubts?" Lucas asked softly.

Peyton took a shaky breath "That I wasn't enough for you. That marriage and kids wasn't what you wanted anymore. That you'd rather be travelling all of America with Lindsey selling your book and writing novels. I didn't want you to regret it all, regret _me._ "

"Peyton." Lucas said firmly tilting her chin up so their eyes met "I would never regret you. I don't want Lindsey, I never did. That night she kissed me, she tried to persuade me to be with her. She offered me everything you thought she would, and I said _no_. Because I only want you. I want to live happily in Tree Hill with you and our baby, and if I never write another word or publish another book for as long as I live then that'll be fine by me, because I've already got everything I dreamed of."

Peyton smiled through her tears, leaning up to kiss Lucas softly.

"Come home baby." He mumbled against her lips "Please."

He felt her nod her head and he smiled wider into their kiss as the let themselves get swept up in one another, revelling in the closeness they'd both craved over the time they'd been apart.

* * *

 _ ***June 23rd, 2012***_

Peyton smiled happily as she organised her records. It had become a ritual since she was fifteen years old; every three months she re-organised all her records and made sure they were alphabetised the way she liked them, genre and sub-genre. Because of the amount of records she usually bought in the space of three months, she found she was always needing to reorganise to accomodate for her new purchases. Jimmy Eat World was playing softly in the background and Peyton swore she couldn't remember ever feeling this content.

She brushed her hand against the small swell of her stomach, the only true physical evidence of her pregnancy so far. She knew it would still be a month or so before her stomach 'popped' but she was enjoying being able to feel the baby, no matter how small, under her fingertips. To know that there was a child inside of her, half her and half Lucas. It made her heart warm at the thought.

She was interrupted from her blissful moment when the side porch door opened into the bedroom, and Peyton's smile dropped instantly from her face when she saw Lindsey Strauss enter into her bedroom.

"Do you not know how to knock?" Peyton sneered as the woman looked up to see her.

Lindsay smiled tightly "Hi Peyton. Is Lucas around?"

"No, so kindly get out of my house." Peyton huffed.

Lindsey narrowed her eyes "Last I checked, Lucas owned this house. And I was welcomed whenever I felt like it."

Peyton took a step closer to the other blonde, bringing up her left hand to flash her diamond engagement ring and matching wedding band "And last I checked, I was Lucas' wife, not you. Therefore, it's my house too. And I want you to get out."

"Look Peyton, Lucas and I have a lot of work to do, so how about you go have your little unloved wife moment somewhere else." Lindsey sassed back.

Peyton could feel her anger building up further "Bitch you're lucky I haven't thrown your ass to the curb by now."

"I doubt your fat ass could throw me anywhere." Lindsay smirked "You know you really should watch yourself Peyton, you're getting a but tubby around your tummy there. You'll make it much easier for me to take Lucas from you if you get fat."

Peyton smiled widely, feeling a sense of satisfaction at the knowledge she was aware Lindsay was missing. Peyton placed her hand over her bump as she emphasised the next words "Lucas doesn't have a problem with my weight, he likes that I'm making sure the baby and I are well-fed."

Peyton had to hold in her laugh as she saw Lindsey freeze momentarily "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah, I am." Peyton said stepping even closer to the editor, poking her finger in her chest "So I'm not going to tell you again. Get the fuck out of my house before I have you arrested for trespassing." She finished pushing Lindsey further and further back.

As Lindsey reached outside the doorway Peyton retreated back into the house, but not before turning around and smiling tightly at Lindsey before quickly adding,

"Oh, and if you ever try to seduce my husband again, you'll see just how much damage I can do. Pregnant or not." She said before slamming the door in Lindsey's face.

Peyton bent over as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel all the stress in her body and she knew it wasn't good for the baby. She needed to breathe. ' _In, out, in, out'_ she repeated in her head. She could feel herself spinning and she tried to reach for her phone to call Lucas, but it was too late.

The song faded out on the record player and the last thing Peyton remembered was the scratching of the vinyl before everything went black.

 **A/N: Okay, so not the most content-heavy for the Leyton chapter but honestly they didn't have as much to write about in terms of their issues. The insecurities of Peyton's will come up again, and Lindsey isn't done with causing trouble just yet haha**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be focusing on all six characters again and the couples as well as they're all slowly starting to come back to Tree Hill again.**

 **As always, please review and let me know what you thought! Hope you're all having a lovely week x**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I know it's been a long time, but it seemed fitting to update on the day OTH won a Teen Choice Award! I'm so proud that the show is still getting such recognition, it's a testament to the show and Mark's creation and how much it has resonated with everyone I'm so happy for Mark and the cast and crew :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ ***June 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 2012**_ _ *****_

It was bordering on 10 pm and Lucas hadn't stopped pacing the halls of Tree Hill Hospital. The doctors had taken her away over six hours when Lucas had bought her in. He had no clue how long his wife had been passed out on their bedroom floor before he had found her, no clue what the damage to his wife or his unborn child were. All he wanted was to see Peyton and hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay.

"Lucas!" He looked up and saw Haley running towards him, Nathan following closely behind.

"Hales…" He whispered as she wrapped her arms around him.

"We got here as fast as we could." Nathan said putting his hand on Lucas' shoulder "How is she?"

"The doctors said they reckon she has something called pre-eclampsia?" Lucas muttered "They need to be 100% sure, they're running tests now."

"So what? We just wait?" Haley exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"It's gonna be okay Lucas." Nathan said firmly, trying to reassure his brother.

"What if I lose her Nathan? What if we lose the baby?" He muttered sadly.

Haley looked up at Lucas in shock "Don't say that! You have to stay strong Lucas, especially now. Peyton and the baby are going to need you, more than ever before."

Lucas nodded "You're right. It's going to be okay. It has to be."

* * *

"This is beautiful." Brooke said as she looked around.

Julian smiled softly as he walked her around the set. He had organised with the crew to have the backdrop set up to show the New York skyline, Brooke's favourite view, along with fairy lights and park benches to make it look like they were in a typical park in New York.

Brooke smiled as she saw the picnic set up in the middle of the set "I can't believe you did all this for me."

"Are you kidding? I would do anything for you." Julian said seriously.

"I love you." Brooke said in awe "This is … amazing Julian."

"I'm glad you like it. I wanted everything to be perfect for tonight."

Brooke frowned at his words "What have you got up your sleeve Julian Baker?"

"Just you wait and see." Julian smirked.

Brooke felt a rush of excitement at his words, curious for the night ahead.

* * *

"Have you spoken to Brooke?" Nathan asked as he, Haley and Lucas sat in the waiting room.

Lucas shook his head "You know her she'll panic the entire time here. I want to wait until Peyton's available to talk to her, ease her nerves."

"Lucas Scott?" They all turned their heads as Doctor Morgan entered the room.

"How is she?" Lucas asked jumping up from his chair.

"She's stable. Her collapse was due to a high amount of stress. She needs to be on bed rest for the next week, and take it easy for the remainder of her pregnancy."

"Oh my god." Lucas muttered "This is my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous Lucas, you guys haven't seen each other in a week." Haley said.

"Exactly. All this shit that happened with Lindsey, we were arguing yesterday. It must've pushed her over the edge." Lucas said panicked.

"With all due respect Mr Scott, this was a much more recent occurrence. The stress has been building for a while, but something recent must have happened for her stress levels to rise this far." Dr Morgan replied.

"… Can I see her?" Lucas asked, ignoring the doctor's words.

"Of course. We had to give her a mild anaesthetic, so she's a little groggy. But unfortunately it was the only option, she was in a lot of discomfort and we couldn't perform all the tests necessary with her in such a state."

"Is she going to be okay? The baby?" Lucas asked frantically "Are they okay?"

"For right now, they're both okay. So long as Peyton takes it easy I don't see why this pregnancy shouldn't go smoothly."

"What about her condition?" Haley asked.

"Well, with pre-eclampsia it's hard to tell. Peyton runs the risk of haemorrhaging during her pregnancy, and if so this could be fatal to both her and the baby."

"Oh my god." Nathan said shocked.

"Look, I know it seems hard, but we'll be monitoring her closely and making sure that both she and your daughter are okay."

"Daughter?" Lucas said brightly "We're having a girl?"

"Oh I'm so sorry, did you not want to know?" The doctor worriedly.

"No it's okay, I just didn't realise you could tell so early." Lucas said startled by the news.

"Well the blood tests we did showed it, it is still too early for an ultrasound to prove the gender." Doctor Morgan explained "Anyways, your wife is in room 605, first door on your left when you come out of the waiting room. I'll come by in about an hour to check on her."

"Thank you doctor." Lucas said as he turned to face Nathan and Haley.

"Congrats man." Nathan smiled hugging his brother "You get a little girl!"

"I can't believe it." Lucas said, still completely shocked by all the news he had received just now "I need to see Peyton."

"Go, send her our love." Haley said with a smile "Tell her the good news."

* * *

"Can you believe they're having a baby girl?" Haley said as she and Nathan walked through the door of her apartment.

"It's crazy to even imagine Lucas and Peyton as parents. I still remember them running out on the bill during our senior year at that little café we stopped at when we all went on a road trip to California." Lucas chuckled "But no one deserves it more than them."

"Definitely." Haley agreed as they lay down and snuggled up together in her bed.

"You know you're going to be an amazing mother one day." Nathan said suddenly.

Haley stilled at his words, and silently cursed herself, hoping that Nathan wouldn't notice.

"Hales, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since you came to visit me."

Haley sighed, realising she couldn't hide this any longer. She sat up in the bed, Nathan sitting up as well and waiting for her to explain.

His nerves grew more as Haley looked down at the bed, her fingers pulling at a loose thread in the blanket. "Hales, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know we only just got back together, but I want you to know you can trust me, whatever it is I'm not going to –"

Haley looked up and quickly blurted out the words she'd been holding in for so long.

"I think I'm pregnant."

 **Sorry it's not a long chapter, but I needed to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully I will have another chapter up soon!**

 **Hope you guys don't mind the ending, I had to leave a little cliffhanger hehe**

 **For those of you who are still reading, thank you for sticking with me and I promise I will start updating sooner!**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you'd like to see happen, and if you think Haley is pregnant or not …**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey all! Sorry it's been so long (again). I'm trying to get back into this story, and now that I'm finishing up uni for the year I should have more time to write. I'd like to try and finish this story by the end of the year. Hope you're all still with me :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 _"You know you're going to be an amazing mother one day." Nathan said suddenly._

 _Haley stilled at his words, and silently cursed herself, hoping that Nathan wouldn't notice._

 _"Hales, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since you came to visit me."_

 _Haley sighed, realising she couldn't hide this any longer. She sat up in the bed, Nathan sitting up as well and waiting for her to explain._

 _His nerves grew more as Haley looked down at the bed, her fingers pulling at a loose thread in the blanket. "Hales, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know we only just got back together, but I want you to know you can trust me, whatever it is I'm not going to –"_

 _Haley looked up and quickly blurted out the words she'd been holding in for so long._

 _"I think I'm pregnant."_

…

"You think?" Nathan asked shocked.

"I took a few pregnancy tests a week ago, but they all showed up with different results." Haley explained.

"Did you go to the doctor?"

Haley shook her head "Not yet."

"Haley! You have to find out!" Nathan exclaimed.

"I know! I'm just … I'm scared ok?" Haley said softly.

"Why? Hales you're going to be an amazing mum-"

"It's not that Nathan. This is happening so fast, we only just got back together."

"... is that why you came to visit me?" Nathan asked hurt.

"No!" Haley yelled panicked "god no, Nathan I swear. I knew I wanted to be with you, before there was any baby to think about. I just didn't want you to choose me because I was pregnant."

"I would never do that Haley. Even if i didn't want to be with you, I still would've helped you raise our baby."

"I know, I just didn't want you to feel pressured or guilted into a decision."

Nathan walked towards her and took Haley in his arms, looking directly into her eyes "Hales, I want you. Baby or not, you're the person I choose to be with. Okay?"

"Okay." Haley smiled leaning in to kiss him "thank you."

Nathan smiled back "Of course. Now, can we call the doctor tomorrow and book an appointment?"

"You're going to come with me?" Haley asked.

"Of course, I'm always here for you." Nathan smiled softly "Come on, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

* * *

Peyton's eyes opened slowly, squinting as she took in the bright white lights above her. She felt confused for a moment; this wasn't her house. Or her bed. Where the hell was she?

She felt a tingle in her left arm and slowly looked over to see Lucas, face down on the bed fast asleep, his head was resting on their intertwined hands. She smiled slightly as she noted his other hand resting on the small swell of her belly where there baby was.

A sudden panic run through her, the memories before her blackout hitting her like a ton of bricks. The pain she felt in her stomach before she collapsed. Was her baby okay? Was her baby even still there?

She felt herself choke up at the thought that her child could be gone, and she quickly shook her hand that was under her husband's head.

"Lucas." she whispered softly.

She heard the soft groan as he woke up, his head quickly snapping up as he felt her fingers move under his hand.

"Peyton?" He asked looking up at her teary eyes "Babe, you're okay. Breathe."

"The baby." she sobbed "What happened?"

"Peyton, our baby's safe. She's okay." Lucas said softly.

"She? She's okay?" Peyton asked as Lucas nodded, her body sagging with relief "Oh thank god."

Lucas leaned in and kissed her gently, leaning in so their noses were touching softly, both quietly enjoying their family moment.

"I was so worried I was going to lose you." Lucas sighed.

Peyton smiled "It's going to take a lot more than that to get rid of me Lucas Scott."

Lucas chuckled softly and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking Peyton's hand in his "Babe, what happened? I came home and you were …"

Peyton squeezed his hand, seeing the pained look in his eyes "Uh, Lindsey came to visit … I tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn't. We were arguing, and all of a sudden I just felt this sharp pain in my stomach … and then everything just went black."

"Lindsey left you there?" He asked shocked.

Peyton shook her head "I managed to kick her ass out just before."

"That's why you collapsed." Lucas whispered "The doctor said you had been too stressed. This is all my fault."

"Lucas, it's not." Peyton insisted "You had no idea she was even in town still."

"I shouldn't have let her into our lives Peyton. If I had just been smarter about all of this, we wouldn't be in this position."

"I'm fine babe. Our daughter is fine. That's all that matters." She frowned when she saw Lucas flinch and look down to their joined hands "What aren't you telling me?"

"You're not wrong, you and the baby are both okay. But they did find something." Lucas said nervously.

Peyton felt the panic build again "What did they find?"

Lucas looked back up at her "Let me go get the doctor."

* * *

"I still can't believe you did all this." Brooke said as she lay on the picnic rug snuggled against Julian.

"Only the best for you." Julian said kissing in the crook of her neck "I just wanted you to know how much I love you. I don't want anyone else Brooke."

"I know." She said softly "I'm sorry for what I said. I guess this whole long distance thing is harder than I expected it to be."

"We've done long distance before though Brooke, why is this time different?"

Brooke shrugged "We're not in the same place as we were before Julian. This time when you left, it felt like we were growing apart. Everything that had happened in the past few months, and our multiple failed proposal attempts...It just felt like the universe was trying to tell us to give up. And I love you too much to give up on us. But when I heard Alex talk about how much she wants you-"

"I don't want her Brooke." Julian insisted.

"I know. But it made me realise that I don't talk to you like that. I don't make an effort anymore to let you know how much I want you, how much I _love_ you. We stopped taking time for each other Julian, we stopped appreciating each other. We were trying to jump into marriage but I don't think either of us were ready."

"Do you not want to marry me anymore?" Julian asked.

"No, of course I do!" Brooke exclaimed, moving to sit up and look him in the eye "Julian, if you proposed to me right now I would tell you yes. All I'm saying is that we need to try and be there for one another, we can't keep letting the important things get swept under the rug like we have been. We need to make more of an effort, otherwise we'll end up how we were again when you left for the film."

"You're right, we have to fight for us." Julian agreed "I think I've just been banking on how much we love each other, and hoping that would be enough to get us through the next eight months."

"I've been doing it too." Brooke said "How about tomorrow, we go and have breakfast together and figure out a game plan?"

"You want to schedule our relationship?" Julian chuckled.

Brooke rolled her eyes "No. But we can at least figure out days we can visit each other and stuff like that."

Julian smiled "I like that. You're more than just pretty looks Brooke Davis."

"Well I have heard that once or twice before Mr Baker." Brooke sassed back with a smirk.

Julian leaned in and kissed her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist as they fell back onto the blanket below them once more. Brooke felt her heart warm as she deepened the kiss, knowing now what she had always hoped; they were going to be okay.

 **A/N: Okay, I know it's a bit short and fluffy for the most part but I need to set the stage for a few things …**

 **I hope you guys liked the talks between each couple. I'm trying to lay the foundation for a happy ending for each couple so stay with me please it won't be too much longer. I'm hoping to make this story about 30 chapters at the most so there's really not too much more before we're all done!**

 **Next chapter: Haley and Nathan (finally!) know if they're having a baby. Lucas confronts Lindsey. Jake and Peyton talk. Brooke finds out about Peyton. Julian confronts Alex.**

 **As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think! I feel like people are losing interest in this story so if you're still there review and let me know what you'd like to see!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry about the wait! Last chapter didn't have many reviews and most of the PM's I got people were disappointed about not seeing Naley in the story so it was a bit disheartening for me and I just wanted feeling up to writing for this story.**

 **But I'm back and I'm motivated to finish this story by the end of January 2018 at the latest! (And oh my god can y'all believe the year is almost over!?)**

 **I snuck in a little bit scene that was inspired from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Let me know if you can guess which part it is …**

 **Enjoy!**

"I guess that's that then." Haley said as she walked through the door of her apartment, Nathan following quietly behind.

Haley flopped down on the couch, completely drained. She watched as Nathan stood awkwardly at the entrance to her living room, and she sighed.

"Do you want something to drink? I can make us some tea. Or are you hungry? I can't cook for shit but I can go to Karen's and-"

"You can go Nathan, it's fine."

"Haley, we need to talk about this."

"I'm not pregnant Nathan. You're off the hook." Haley laughed bitterly.

Nathan's eyes narrowed as he walked closer to her "You know that's not what I care about."

"Nathan, I'm tried. Today was not what I expected, I want to be alone."

"Hales, please, I really don't think that's the best thing right now."

"Dammit Nathan, leave me alone!" Haley exclaimed.

Nathan flinched, not knowing what to say to her. Knowing she wasn't in the mindset to be pushed right now, he simply walked over to her and kissed the top of her head, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"Call me later. Please?" He mumbled against her hair.

She nodded against him and leaned her head on his chest for a moment, relishing his embrace.

He let her go after a few minutes, and silently walked out the door. Haley sighed in relief, moving into her bedroom. She saw the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes and walked into her bathroom.

She pulled the cabinet open and grabbed her tissues, stopping short when she saw the pregnancy tests that sat on the shelving. She looked at herself in the mirror, the tears finally falling down her face as she chucked the box in the bin next to her, walking back into her room and curling up in her bed.

* * *

"Nate? This is a nice surprise." Brooke smiled as she opened her front door.

"Hey. Uhh, I'm sorry I just ... I didn't know where else to go." He said.

Brooke took in his broken state; eyes tinged red, the painful expression written all over his face.

"Nathan, what happened?"

...

Haley sighed as she walked towards the door. The pounding of the door only growing insistent and louder as she got closer.

She groaned as she opened the door "Nathan! I said I would- oh."

"Hi Hales." Brooke smiled sincerely as she stepped inside the house.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asks as she watches Brooke sit down in the living room, dropping her handbag down onto the floor beside the couch.

"Nathan came to my house. He was a complete mess, I don't think I've ever seen him so distraught ... and yet, he told me to come and check on you. So, you wanna tell me what's going on, are you you going to make me guess?"

"Brooke ..." Haley sighed running her hands through her hair in frustration "I'm fine."

"Yeah ... I don't buy that for one second. You're as big a mess as he is, and I can't help but think it's got something to do with your baby drama."

"I'd have to be pregnant to have baby drama now wouldn't I?" Haley grumbled.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Brooke said as Haley came and sat down next to her "What happened?"

...

"Nathan, what are we going to do if we are having a baby together?" Haley asked as she and Nathan sat in the doctor's office.

"We're going to figure it out Haley. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know we're in this together. No matter what."

"...what would you prefer. Boy or girl?" Haley asked suddenly.

"A girl." He replies within a second.

"That was fast. You spend a lot of time thinking about your future kids?" Haley joked.

Nathan shrugged "I've had my whole life planned with you since I was 17."

"Shut up." Haley snorted whacking his shoulder playfully.

"I'm being serious Hales." Nathan said looking down at her "I've always wanted you. Since we were hormonal 13 year olds I've wanted you."

Haley felt tears prick her eyes "What did you imagine? In our lives; what did you see?"

"Well, stuff like where'd we live, you know? Like a, cozy house on the outskirts of Tree Hill, with quiet streets where our kids could learn to ride their bikes and stuff. And we could have a dog that we'd dress up in those cheesy holiday sweaters, and that would protect our kids when they were little. We'd have all our family and friends over every Sunday, and I could finally get that grill I've always wanted. We'd have a porch swing out the back where we'd sit every night watching the kids run around in the yard and wonder how life could ever get better than this."

"Wow." Haley whispered.

"Yeah. No matter what happens today, our life is going to be amazing Haley."

...

"That sounds like a pretty good day Haley. I highly doubt finding out you weren't pregnant would cause such a reaction."

"They didn't just tell me I wasn't pregnant Brooke, they said I'm never going to be...I can't."

"You can't have kids? Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry." Brooke wrapped her arms around Haley as her friend began to cry "What did Nathan. Have to say about this?"

"We didn't really talk about it, we were both kind of schooled. But he told me before that he wants kids Brooke, he wants kids with me, and I can't give that to him."

"Haley, you can still have children. Adoption, surrogacy-"

"It's not the same Brooke. I can't give Nathan what he wants. I can't give him a daughter with his blue eyes and my love for reading, or a son with his basketball skills."

"Haley, Nathan loves you. Whether or not kids are a part of your future, you two have wanted each other for as long as I've known you. He wouldn't just give up your future together over one thing."

"It's the thing Brooke. It's not something that we can just ignore." Haley argued.

Brooke sighed, squeezing Haley tighter in their hug before releasing her so they were looking eye to eye "Sweetie, I love you so much, but you're being stubborn right now. You're shutting Nathan out, and he's suffering too. He wants to help you, but you won't let him. You're making a decision that affects your entire relationship, and you won't even talk to him about it."

"I'm just not ready Brooke. I can't look at him, knowing that I can't give him what he wants most with me. I had a whole vision for our future together, and I don't know where we go from here anymore."

"That's something only you two can figure out Haley. You need to talk to him."

* * *

Lucas walked quietly through the back door of Nathan's house three days later. Peyton was resting at home, and Brooke had come over asking Lucas to go check in on his brother while she stayed with Peyton.

He flinched when he heard a loud smash come from the living room, racing in to see Nathan staring at the wall, his iPhone resting on the floor a few feet away from him; the screen completely smashed.

"Phone froze again?" He joked as Nathan turned to look at him.

"What are you doing here Luke?" Nathan asked walking past him to poor himself a drink in the kitchen.

"Well, I was having a lovely afternoon with my pregnant wife, trying to take her mind off the fact that she's got a serious medical condition that's high risk for both her and our baby, when Brooke came over, telling me I needed to go and see my brother right now."

"I'm fine. Brooke's worrying over nothing."

"Funny, that's what Haley said too."

Nathan's head shot up "you saw Haley?"

"Yeah. Brooke said I should visit her too. What's going on Nathan?"

"It's not my place to say." He replied.

"Then don't tell me the specifics." Lucas pushed "come on Nate, maybe I can help."

"... Haley and I found out something, and it's a pretty big deal in terms of our relationship."

"And you two had an argument about it?" Lucas guessed.

"No, but this news, it affects her more. And I'm trying to be there for her but she won't let me. I've called and texted, she won't answer me Lucas. I tried going over there but she won't open the door. I don't know what to do." Nathan said desperately.

"Maybe, you just need to give her time." Lucas says "I know Haley; she likes being in control of everything in her life. And when she isn't, she doesn't know how to cope."

"It's been days Lucas, I can't handle this much longer. I just want her to know I'm here for her, that what we know now doesn't change the way I feel."

Lucas pat his brother's shoulder giving him a sad smile "I know Nathan, but she needs time to process. If this is as big as you're saying it is, she needs time to come to terms with everything. And she's not used to having anyone by her side for the big things; her parents were always travelling, her siblings are spread out all over the country, and we all had our own dramas our entire lives. She'll come to you when she's ready. I promise."

Nathan sighed "I hope you're right."

 **A/N: Okay, so I know this is a bit of a weird ending for the chapter but I've decided to split this chapter into two parts because it was getting way too long! Bright side, you get all Naley for this chapter and next – will be posted tomorrow night.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think; I haven't had many reviews lately and they always motivate me to update faster so please let me know if you're still reading!**

 **Maddie**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hi everyone. I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait. I had my bag stolen and there was just a lot of stress going on in my life since the person who took it had all my personal information as well as a set of my house keys, which made me really anxious and just completely unable to focus on writing or anything else. My notes for this story were written in my notepad which was also in my bag which meant that I've had to start from scratch in terms of writing out this chapter and all the ones I had mapped out.**

 **I'm so sorry for the wait, and what is a shorter than usual chapter, but I'm only just getting back in the swing of things with this story. Hopefully the future chapters will be better.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ ***June 28th, 2012***_

Haley lay on her bed staring at the mind-numbing drama show that was playing out on her tv screen. It had been four days since she and Nathan had last seen one another. She had called him that night like she promised, but the conversation had been all of 10 seconds; Haley was too afraid she would break down on the phone and he would come running to her aid.

She knew he wanted to be there for her, but she didn't know how to let him in. She didn't know what to tell him, because she didn't know anything herself. She didn't know how she felt about the situation, or what she wanted to do now. Did she want to adopt? Did she want to try surrogacy? IVF?

And what scared her more was that with those questions, came an even bigger one; What role would Nathan have in all this?

They had only been dating officially for a week, despite having been 'together' for a month now. Where they ready for that kind of conversation, where they in that phase of their relationship yet to even be discussing having kids? Were they even ready to be parents yet?

Her thoughts were giving her a headache, and she turned off her TV and buried herself further under her blanket, holding the toy panda bear that lay on her bed tightly against her chest. Nathan had won it for her the day they had gone incognito in LA, he had taken her to an arcade that he and Clay sometimes hung out at. Haley had thought the Panda that was sitting on the shelf behind the counter was _'so cute'_ and so Nathan had played the basket-shooting game until he had collected 120 tokens to get her the Panda. It was almost as big as she was, and so Nathan had carried it all the way to the hotel in one arm, making sure the other arm was wrapped tightly around Haley.

She felt tears prick her eyes as she thought about that day. God she missed him. She wanted to see him, to be in his arms, to kiss him, and tell him she loved him. She picked up her phone from the nightstand and opened his contact, but stopped just before she pressed his number. It wasn't fair to him. She couldn't just call him up because she missed him, she couldn't see him until she knew what she would say to him, until she knew what she wanted to do with all the information the doctor had told them.

So instead she threw her phone behind her, snuggled up to the Panda that Nathan had bought her and shut her eyes tightly as she felt the tears start to fall, praying that sleep would claim her soon.

* * *

"You seriously need to talk to her." Peyton said as she watched Nathan stare at his phone, like he had been doing every time she had seen him this past week.

"She's not answering my calls anymore." Nathan said sadly.

"She's hurt Nate, she needs some time to process the news. Which, by the way, I can't believe you didn't tell us!" Lucas said.

Brooke rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Peyton on the couch "You mean just like you didn't tell me about Peyton and the baby being in the _hospital,_ possibly _dying?"_ Brooke said narrowing her eyes at the older Scott brother.

"Touche." Lucas said before standing up and grabbing a beer from the kitchen.

Brooke turned to face Nathan "But seriously Nate, Peyton's right. If she's not answering your calls, then go over there and knock the damn door down if you have to! Show her you're not going anywhere."

"She said needed time." Nathan shrugged.

"That's a cop out and you know it. If you don't want to be with her then man up and say so." Brooke pushed.

Nathan's head snapped up "Of course I want to be with her Brooke! I've been trying, but she won't hear me out! You don't think I've tried going over there, she won't answer the fucking door! I'm so hopelessly in love with her and she won't even give me the time of day, but I can't complain because she just found out the most devastating news of her life so far!"

"So make her listen Nathan." Brooke said calmly "I know Haley; she wants you there, but she doesn't want you to think you _have_ to stay by her side just because she got bad news. You have to prove to her that you want to be with her, whether or not she can have kids. You have to make sure she knows you're not giving up on her. Or the two of you."

"...I'm scared Brooke." Nathan says softly "I love her. I truly do, and I see a life with her. But she's got it in her head that we can't build a life without having kids of her own. She thinks she's doing me a favour by leaving me alone, but it just hurt more. What if ... What if she decides it's over?"

Peyton gives her friend a look and Brooke nods, walking over to Nathan and crouching down in front of him and taking her hands in his.

"Haley loves you, she told me that when I saw her. You just need to push her a little Nathan. Haley's a stubborn girl, and if you let her push you away, it'll be the biggest mistake of _both_ your lives."

* * *

It was late at night when Haley woke up again. She was sleeping peacefully, a faint sound pulling her from her slumber, growing louder as she became more conscious.

Haley got up quickly, rushing downstairs to the door that was being incessantly hit upon.

"Haley! Open the door!" She heard Nathan's voice and froze.

She stopped a few feet from the door, her hand outstretched to grab the doorknob. But she couldn't, she was stuck.

"Haley, I know you're there! I swear to god if you don't open this door I _will_ kick it down!" His voice grows louder "Haley!"

She forced herself to take another step forward, taking a deep breath as she clasped the door handle. _'You can do this. Let him in.'I_

Nathan took a step back as the door opened, taking in Haley's appearance; her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess and she looked like she hadn't slept or showered in days.

"Hales." He whispered heartbrokenly.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" She said softly "And why are you so wet?"

"Your patio has holes in the roof, it's fucking pouring out here!" He says taking a step inside.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" She asks again, still in shock that he's standing in front of her.

"I'm done." He says suddenly, and Haley feels as though her heart has stopped. He's done. With her? With them? "I'm done waiting for you to let me in. I want to talk to you, now."

She feels her body sag in relief "Nathan, I don't think-"

"I don't care." He cuts her off "I want you, Hales. And I don't give a fuck if we _ever_ have children. I want to be with you. I want to build a _life_ with _you_. And whatever you decide about kids, I'll support you. Because I love you, Haley James. Always and forever."

"Nathan..." tears fill her eyes and her throat tightens.

He takes a step closer to her, his hands coming up to hold her by her arms "Please Haley, just ... Let me in. Please."

She was quiet for a few moments, Brooke's words ringing in her head.  
 _"You're shutting Nathan out, and he's suffering too. He wants to help you, but you won't let him. You're making a decision that affects your entire relationship, and you won't even talk to him about it."_

Brooke was right. She couldn't keep shutting Nathan out any longer. Whether she was ready to face it or not, they had to deal with this together. They had to talk about this, and how it affected them. She couldn't run from the truth any longer.

Nathan grew anxious the longer she was silent, he was beginning to wonder if he should just run out the door before she told him to go. He felt Haley step into him, resting her head against his cold, wet chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

A soft laugh escaped her lips when she squeezed him to her, hearing the water drip from his clothing and falling on the wooden flooring beneath their feet.

"Let's get you changed first. We can talk after." Haley smiles nervously and Nathan nods, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"I've missed you Hales."

 **A/N: Okay so this is a bit of a filler, but the second part is already written and will be up tomorrow I just need to edit it. Nathan and Haley will talk everything out and discuss everything that they're afraid of and what's bothering them.**

 **I've also started a Facebook group for my writing because FF has been a bit unpredictable lately and some of my older stories were deleted so if you'd like to join the group please do! I'll be taking polls and stuff as well to get your help with stories and get your opinions on things :)**

 **groups/1713584325346393/**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I seriously suck. There's no excuse, but I promise not to keep telling you guys I'll update tomorrow/in a few days or whatever because with everything going on lately I just can't keep those kinds of promises.**

 **For the guest reviewer who is upset with me for having both Brooke and Lucas in the characters on this story info, but not having them as a couple:**

 **I do not have them as a 'paired' couple in the story info, and in the bio for this story it very clearly says NALEY, BRULIAN, LEYTON.**

 **I'm sorry if that's not enough for you, but I will not be changing the characters linked to this story information just because you think I'm being 'deceitful'. Brooke and Lucas are the secondary characters, and while Jake, Julian and Peyton are also in this story they are not as present as Brooke and Lucas nor do they have as strong a relationship with Naley in my story. Brooke and Lucas have a close bond with both Nathan and Haley and are integral to different parts of the story, that's why they're in this story's character list when you view the information.**

 **I do not appreciate being called 'deceitful' and having a long ass review in my story just for you to complain about an insignificant thing like this.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ ***June 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2012**_ _ *****_

Haley and Nathan were sitting in the living room, Nathan now changed into a pair of pyjama pants and his old Duke shirt that Haley would usually wear since they started dating. Haley was staring down into her cup of tea, Nathan waiting patiently for her to speak.

"I, uh … I guess we should talk?" She said quietly looking up at him.

Nathan smiled gently "Only if you really want to Haley. I mean, I can't handle this anymore. Being away from you is killing me, but at the same time I don't want you to feel pressured into talking to me."

"I want to Nathan. I do, but I'm just nervous. This is hard for me." Haley says.

"It's hard for me too Haley. I know that it's not the same, but you shutting me out hurt. And not being able to process this all with you, it made it hard."

"I'm sorry Nathan. I just didn't feel like I could accept this myself. I didn't want you to feel you had to take care of me and stand by me through all of this. I didn't want to burden you with my problems."

"Dammit Haley, it's not a burden." Nathan sighed frustrated "Don't you get it? I want to be with you, babies or not. You pushing me away hurts more than you not being able to have kids ever did. I don't care about whether or not you can have kids, there are plenty of other ways to have children. It doesn't matter to me."

"You say that now Nathan, but I know you. I saw how excited you were when Lucas told you he and Peyton were having a baby; that light in your eyes? I know you want that experience for yourself one day. You should be able to have that with someone, and I can't give that to you." Haley said sadly.

"I meant what I said to you at the doctor's office Haley, I want _you_. More than I want kids. And yes, I will probably wonder what our kids would have looked like, and whether they'd have my cockiness or your humbleness, if they'd have your hair or my eyes … But that doesn't mean that I want anyone else. I want it all with you, or I don't want it at all.

Haley's quiet for a few moments, letting his words sink in "I'm scared one day you're going to wake up and resent me for keeping you from everything your life could have been. I don't know that I ever want to try to carry my own baby, Nathan."

Nathan stares at her, shocked "What do you mean?"

"I'm scared Nathan. The chances of me having a miscarriage, or some kind of complication during pregnancy are so much higher. I don't think I could cope if anything happened to our baby, and what if something happens to me? I don't want to leave you alone, or having to choose between saving me or the-"

"Stop." Nathan whispers, the pain evident in his voice "Haley, you can't think like that."

"It's the truth though Nathan. There's a lot more risks, and I'm scared. I don't know if I can do this."

"Then we don't have to." Nathan urges, moving to sit beside her "I didn't know you were feeling like this Hales, I would never make you do something you were uncomfortable with doing."

"I've always wanted to experience pregnancy Nate, but with this new information … I just don't know if I'd be able to. I'd be too stressed out the whole time wondering if something was going to happen. You want kids Nathan, and I don't know that I can give you them." Haley cried.

"babe, we can still adopt. Or use a surrogate. There are so many other ways to have children. You're not sure you want to carry a baby, but you want to have kids with me, right?"

"Of course. But I want you to have the kids you want Nathan, I don't want you to settle for a second option." Haley says softly.

Nathan lifts her chin so that she's looking at him, her tear-filled eyes meeting his strong blue ones "Haley, a life with you? That's always been my first choice. I don't care if you never carry a baby. We can do it other ways, we'll get there no matter what. We agree on having kids somehow, and that's good enough for me. I know why you're scared, and I get it. I would never push you into having a kid if you didn't want to Haley, especially now."

Haley smiles up at Nathan when he wipes his thumb against her cheek to collect the tears that had fallen "Thank you."

"Of course Hales. As long as you and I get to live our life together, the rest we can figure out as we go." Nathan says "Because, I love you Haley. So much."

"I love you too Nathan." She says kissing him.

Nathan holds her to him, relishing the feeling of having Haley back in his arms. His hands come up to run through her hair and he frowns into the kiss when he feels her greasy hair. He pulls back and looks at her properly for the first time since he's arrived at her house.

There are dark circles forming under her eyes, her hair is a tatted mess, and she looks frail. His heart aches as he takes in her state.

"When was the last time you showered? Or slept? Or ate? Haley, I love you, but you look like hell." Nathan said concerned.

Haley chuckled softly at his comment, shrugging her shoulder "I don't really remember … I tried to sleep, but it didn't happen a lot. I guess I got used to having you lying beside me." She said shyly.

Nathan smiled, kissing her forehead "Well, I'm here now. So let's get you cleaned up and in bed; let me take care of you."

Haley nodded quietly, taking Nathan's hand and letting him lead her to her bedroom and through to the en suite bathroom.

Nathan let go of Haley's hand, leaving her to stand awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom as Nathan walked over to the shower. He pulled off his shirt as he went, giving Haley a glimpse at his well-defined muscles. He threw his shirt to the side and leaned into the shower to turn the handles and let the water warm up.

He came back to Haley, looking her in the eyes as he pulled down his pants and boxers as he looked at her, standing bare before her. He saw Haley's cheek flush pink and he had to hold in his laugh; even after all this time together, and the amount of times they'd been together intimately, she was still felt embarrassed about checking him out.

Nathan reached forward and started undoing the buttons on the silky pyjamas she had put on after she gave him his shirt that she'd been wearing, letting it fall from down her arms and revealing her bare chest to him. Nathan sucked in a sharp breath as he took her in, before kneeling down and grasping the waistband of her shorts and underwear pulling them down her legs and allowing her to step out of them.

His eyes trailed up her body as he stood back up and Haley reached forward running her hands down Nathan's abs, smirking when she saw his lower half begin to stir. Nathan took her hand once more and led them both into the shower.

He smiled at her as he turned them around so that she was standing under the water, Nathan grabbing her body wash from the floor and getting her to take a step forward so she wasn't under the spray anymore. He took his time lathering the body wash and running it down her body, massaging her as he went. Haley returned the action, taking her time as she ran her hands down his well-defined chest. They were quiet as they washed one another's hair and rinsed each other off; it was intimate, but they both knew it wouldn't go further than a simple shower right now. Nathan didn't want their first time since that devastating morning to be a quick and hurried rendezvous in her small shower cubicle.

Nathan stepped out first, letting Haley stand under the warm water a few minutes longer while he got two towels from the linen closet next to her bathroom sink. Haley couldn't stare at his naked form as he walked around, her eyes travelling from his muscular back further down his body. Nathan suddenly turned and Haley looked away quickly, blushing profusely knowing that she had been caught ogling her boyfriend's ass.

Nathan smirked walking back to the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist before leaning in to turn off the water before pulling Haley's hand to lead her out of the shower. He gently dried her body, using the towel to dry her hair as best he could.

"You finish drying your hair, I'll order us some dinner from that Italian place around the corner you love." Nathan said handing her the towel.

Haley nodded "That sounds perfect, thank you."

Nathan smiled, leaning down to give her a quick kiss before heading out of the bathroom.

Haley watched his retreating figure, smiling to herself.

' _What did I do to deserve you, Nathan Scott?'_

* * *

Nathan and Haley were now sitting in her bed, cross-legged leaning against the headboard as they finished eating their dinner.

"These guys still make the best gnocchi I've ever had." Nathan says as he puts his takeout box in the bin on his side of the bed.

"I told you, that's why they're my favourite. Plus they always give me an extra big side order of Mac and Cheese" Haley says as she eats the last few morsels of her pasta.

Nathan smiles as he watches her devour the food. He had ordered quite a bit, but he and Haley had managed to finish it off, which helped ease his mind. Haley's appetite seemed to be returning, and he was determined to make sure she was eating properly and gained a few pounds over the next few weeks; she was too frail for his liking.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Haley mumbled through a mouthful of Mac and Cheese, sauce sitting against the edge of her lip. She placed the now empty container on her bedside table and turned to face him once more.

"You're cute." Nathan chuckled as he leaned in, kissing the corner of her mouth "You're a messy eater Haley James."

Haley's breath shortened as Nathan's eyes met hers, the two inches away from one another. Nathan's hand came up to rest against her cheek and Haley leaned into his warm touch, letting out a soft sigh. Nathan holds her face in his both his hands, his eyes flickering down to her lips before he leans in and kisses her.

They're lost in their own world instantaneously, Haley's hands run from the nape of his neck through his hair, Nathan's arms wrapping around her waist and holding her body tightly against his own. Their movements grow more frantic, Haley shifting so that she's straddling Nathan's waist.

Nathan pulls back from her, both of them dragging air into their lungs.  
"We should slow down." he says breathlessly.

Haley shakes her head "I don't want to slow down. I love you. I want you."

"Hales … Are you sure?' He wanted her. He knew he did. But he didn't want to rush things; they had only just resolved their issues, he didn't want to push her.

"I'm sure. Make love to me." Haley whispered.

It was like music to his ears and Nathan's hands moved more frantically, reaching for the sash around her waist holding her fluffy bathrobe together and pulling it vigorously. Nathan's hands held onto the top of the robe as it fell down, his hands moving along with it until it pooled around her waist and he could pull it out and throw it to the floor.

His eyes took in her naked body once more, a low groan escaping him "You're so beautiful baby."

"You always make me feel safe." Haley whispers into the crook of his neck as she kisses him there.

Nathan smiles, whispering against the side of her face "Because you are safe with me Haley, and you're loved. Always."

Haley smiles and pulls back so she can kiss him again, her hands trying to push his boxers down to no avail. He won't lift up so she can remove them, and he tries not to laugh at her frustration.

He takes her by surprise, flipping them over so he's now laying on top of her and Haley giggles at the sudden action.

Nathan settles himself so he's lying between her legs and kisses down her neck, his lips trailing down her chest and Haley's head falls back against the pillows as her hands play in his hair and slowly run up and down his back. Nathan's hands run along the side of her toned body, his mouth kissing and sucking on her skin as he went. His left hand trailed up to her breast while his mouth moved to her right one. His hand palmed one breast while he kissed around the other as Haley whimpered beneath him.

"Nate…" He could feel himself growing harder at the way she moaned his name. Haley could hear herself mumbling some incoherencies but she was too swept up in the feel of Nathan's hands and mouth all over her body and the throbbing between her thighs was only growing stronger.

Nathan moved back up to kiss her lips and Haley's hands brushed down the front of his chest, her hands spending a few extra seconds as they reacquainted themselves with his well-defined muscles. She reached down and wrapped her hand around his cock, causing Nathan to groan. He had missed her touch.

"I want you. _Please_." She cried. They had only been apart for a number, but to the both of them it had felt like years since they'd touched one another, or felt connected like this. They both craved the feeling of their bodies being joined, and neither wanted to wait any longer.

Nathan reached his hand blindly to Haley's bedside table, opening the drawer and fumbling around trying to find a condom, not wanting to remove his lips from Haley's long enough to look properly.

"Forget about it." Haley mumbled against his neck "I want to feel you."

Nathan broke the kiss, looking at her surprised "Haley, that's a big decision. Unprotected sex…"

"I trust you Nathan. I know you haven't been with anyone else, and if you had any kids of STD's I'm pretty sure you would've told me by now." Haley chuckled softly "And I'm on the pill so we're still protected, not that we need to worry about falling pregnant."

She saw the saddened look that filled Nathan's eyes and she knew her joke had fallen flat. She lifted her hand up to his cheek and stroked it gently down to his chin as she looked him in the eyes.

"Nathan, don't. That's not what this is about. I want to feel you, _all_ of you. The only other time we did this was when we were on the couch, and it felt … indescribably amazing. I want to feel that again. Please baby." She was on the verge of begging, but she didn't really give a shit if she looked pathetic right now. She would beg him as much as it took for him to believe her.

She saw Nathan's eyes darken once more. He nodded and took himself in hand, lining up with her entrance as he looked back up at her.

"I love you." He whispered leaning down to kiss her again as he pushed himself inside her.

Haley gasped into the kiss and her hips titled as her body took him in, welcoming the feel of Nathan Scott once more. Haley looked at Nathan and could see the struggle in his eyes; he was staying still, wanting to savor the moment, but she needed more.

She clenched her muscles around him and Nathan moaned as his eyes closed again. Unable to hold off any longer, he pulled out of her a little before sliding back in, Haley's legs coming up so her feet were on the bed giving Nathan more access to her.

"You feel so good Hales." Nathan mumbled against her neck "I missed you so much."

"Oh, I've missed you too." Haley sighs tilting her hips up to meet him.

He moved slow but strong, wanting to take his time with her. There were plenty more chances in their future to get caught up in the moment, but tonight he wanted to savor being back in Haley James' arms.

Haley groaned at the force of Nathan's thrusts, matching his pace. She could feel her release stirring within her and she knew Nathan was close too. Nathan's hand slid between their sweat-slicked bodies and pressed against Haley's clit.

"Nathan!" She cried out as her orgasm hit her.

Haley reached her hands up and pulled Nathan back to her kissing him again. Her tongue slid against his, mimicking what their lower halves were doing. She felt her orgasm starting to wind down, but she wanted Nathan to come with her. She squeezed her muscles around him every time he slid back into her, Nathan moaning at the sensation. He kept pushing into her a few more times before he felt himself let go, calling her name as he emptied himself in her.

Nathan's arms fell from under him, his body collapsing on top of Haley's. They were both quiet for a few minutes, Haley's hands playing in Nathan's hair as he held her tightly. He moved off her, laying down on his side of the bed and wrapping his arms around her, pulling Haley against him.

"That was-" Haley trailed off breathless.

"I know." Nathan smiled kissing her forehead.

"I love you Nathan, thank you for fighting for us. For making me open up to you. I'm glad you did." Haley said as she lay her head on his chest, his heartbeat lulling her to sleep.

Nathan looked down at Haley as her eyes began to flutter "Always Hales. I will always fight for you." He said as he let himself give in to the exhaustion of the day, not before hearing Haley mumble against his chest.

"Always and forever."

 **A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter, I'm so sorry it took so long. I'll try to update soon but no guarantees as to when that will be – I don't want to make any promises I can't keep; I know Easter week will be really busy for me with work.**

 **For those who celebrate, have a wonderful Easter hopefully surrounded by friends and family. Have a wonderful week everyone!**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of their talk.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm back! This chapter is a bit shorter than most but I am in the middle of exams, which I finish this Thursday (Thank goodness!) and I am going to try to update one more time before I go on holidays for the next two and a half weeks, since it's not guaranteed that I will have connection to wifi to upload chapters over that time. But I will definitely keep writing this story while I'm on holidays so I can upload it when I get back :)**

 **PS: I don't know what happened last night when I updated, but it posted Ch 21 again. Sorry everyone, here is the right chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

*June 30th, 2012*

Brooke let out an annoyed breath as she turned over in her bed once more, staring at the clock on the bedside table. It was 3:00am. She hadn't been able to sleep since returning to Tree Hill, her bed felt lonely.

And it was. She missed Julian. She missed having his warm body next to hers, holding her close and making her feel safer than she had ever been before in her life. She couldn't wait for his movie to be done, and for him to be home.

' _4 more months. You can do this.'_ she thought. The movie schedule had been moved up by a month, meaning Julian would be home well in time for Christmas, something Brooke had been worried about for the last five weeks since they'd said goodbye in the Tree Hill airport.

Brooke pulled the blanket tighter around her, trying to recreate the warmth that Julian had provided. But it was no use. She tossed the blankets off her with a frustrated grunt and got up, walking into her office.

If she couldn't sleep, she would sketch. This had become her routine since she came back from her trip to New Zealand three days ago. She was originally supposed to stay for three weeks, but that had been cut short when Victoria demanded she come to the New York office due to an 'emergency'.

Brooke put the lamp on that sat above her desk, pulling out the sketch she had been working on for the past few weeks. She smiled when she saw it; this was her masterpiece, the most important design she would ever work on.

She let her work consumer her, the incessant buzzing of her phone being drowned out for the half-an-hour she spent drawing the design. She took a break when her phone could no longer be ignored, looking at the thousands of twitter and instagram notifications she had. This was nothing new; people loved her designs, her life, and her relationship with Julian. They were always following every aspect of her life. But the comments that were coming up peaked her curiosity.

" _BDavis You're better off without him."_

" _JulianBaker should be ashamed of himself, and Alex_Dupre1. BDavis is an amazing girl."_

" _#TeamBrooke. BDavis, stay strong."_

She frowned as she saw comment after comment flood her lock screen. She clicked on the notification, her eyes widening as she saw the photos she had been tagged in by a gossip tabloid.

 _ **Brooke Davis and Julian Baker split? Baker, 25, was seen around town with Alex Dupre, 21, the lead for his new movie which is being filmed in New Zealand. Davis, 23 was seen visiting her boyfriend two weeks ago. But was a suspected romantic reunion, really a break-up trip?**_

Brooke rolled her eyes when she read the caption, flicking through the photos that had been taken of Julian and Alex; they were walking around the local park, laughing and feeding the ducks. Alex's hand rested on his chest in a few of the photos, and Brooke understood why people would misread the situation. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little doubt looking at those photos.

She shut the app, opening up her phone app and selecting the first contact in her favourites. She waited patiently as the phone rang. Once, twice-

" _Julian's phone._ " Alex's perky voice came through " _...Hello? Is someone there?_ "

"Where's Julian?" Brooke shot out.

" _Oh, hey Brooke! He's just at the bar, Julian wanted to treat the cast and crew for all their hard work so far._ "

Brooke smiled at that. Julian always was the sweetest man, she had no reason to doubt him. " _Did you want me to let him know you called?_ "

"It's fine actually, could you just tell him to ignore the comments he's being tagged in on social media? There's some stupid gossip tabloids trying to start some shit."

" _Oh I saw that. I already spoke to Julian about it, don't worry. I'll let him know._ " Alex said.

Brooke forced a smile, her hand clenching the phone tighter "Great. Thanks Alex." She said stiffly.

" _No worries Brooke, have a good night!_ " Alex exclaimed.

"No wait, I want to talk to-" Brooke yelled before the line disconnected "Julian."

She sighed defeatedly, hanging up her phone and looking down at the sketch. She shook her head, throwing it on the floor before heading into her kitchen to the wet bar. If drawing wasn't going to help her, alcohol sure as hell would.

* * *

*July 1st, 2012*

Peyton stood in front of the mirror, her hands over the large bump under her shirt. She smiled as her hands ran up and down her belly. Lucas came into view in the reflection, leaning against the door frame with a smirk.

"Well that sure was fast." Lucas chuckled.

Peyton rolled her eyes, pushing the semi-deflated basketball out from under her shirt before sitting back down on the bed "I'm going stir-crazy Lucas."

It had been a little over a week since Peyton moved back home. Things were still a little tense between the two but they were working their hardest to communicate better, and make sure that they were constantly checking in with one another.

Lucas smiled sympathetically, walking over and sitting next to his wife, pressing a kiss to the top of her head "Babe, the doctor put you on strict bed rest for a reason. Your blood pressure was way too high, and if you keep up the pace you were at work before then you're just going to make things worse for you and the baby."

"But I'm going out of my mind Luke! I counted how many rotations our ceiling fan does per minute. I read the June issue of magazine cover to cover _sixteen times_! And now you're going to New York to spend all your time with _Lindsay-_ "

Lucas groaned at Peyton's tone "Peyt, I told you it's for work. Nothing's going to happen."

"I know … I just don't like the idea of the two of you alone in her office for long hours at a time. At least when I was working I could distract myself, but now my mind is just going crazy with all these little things that _might_ happen while you're there." Peyton said softly.

"Don't you trust me?"

"I don't trust her. She wants you, and she doesn't give a damn that you're already married, _or_ that we're starting a family together. She wants what she wants and that's all she cares about." Peyton says.

Lucas feels a little hurt by her response, knowing she still doesn't completely trust him. But he deserves it. He knows he has to earn back her trust, and going to New York for the weekend was a big step; it showed that she believed in him, and knew he wouldn't do anything with Lindsay, and that he wouldn't let her do anything either.

"How about I get Jake to drop off some demo's for you to listen to? I'll set the CD player up next to the bed so you don't have to move much, and when Brooke and Haley come over tonight you guys can go for a walk around the block? The doctor said you could do that much." Lucas offers.

Peyton's face lit up with a smile "That would be _amazing_. I can't spend the whole weekend cooped up in here with nothing to do. There's nothing fun to do in this house. No offense."

"None taken." Lucas laughed "Mum never really kept any board games and stuff around here, it's all in the cafe. But I'll get Brooke and Haley to bring over some movies and books too."

"You're the best." Peyton leaned in to kiss Lucas.

"Anything for my two favourite girls." Lucas mumbled against her lips "Are you sure you're okay with me going to New York? I can reschedule, or conference-"

"You have to go. You haven't been to the publisher's office in weeks, and it's not just … _her_ , that wants to talk to you. Your bosses want to talk about your tour dates and schedules, it's an important meeting. I'll be fine here." Peyton said, her voice not completely convincing him.

"Call me if you need anything, okay? I'll be on the next flight out."

"I will, I promise." Peyton hugs her husband to her "I love you."

Lucas smiles as his head rests in the crook of her neck, his hand reaching down to rest on her 9-week bump "I love you too Peyton, both of you."

* * *

*July 2nd, 2012*

" _Are you sure you can't come earlier?_ " Nathan asked as Haley rushed around the room, getting ready for the day.

"Babe, you know I can't. I promised Luke we'd spend the weekend with Peyton while he's in New York. He's so anxious about being away from her while she's still sick, the doctors haven't cleared her yet so he needs us there to make sure she doesn't exert herself."

"I know." Nathan sighs "I just wish you were here, I hate being away from you."

"I don't like it either Nate, but I promise I'll be there for your final game. I got my leave approved and everything! I've never been to an NBA game before, I can't wait!" Haley says excitedly as she walks into her closet to grab her clothes for work.

The NBA finals were supposed to be on June 19th, however a point-shaving scandal with one of the final teams meant that the finals were postponed until the issue was investigated. Luckily, the team was cleared of the allegations and the finals game was scheduled for July 4th.

"I'm excited for you to be there, I don't think you've been to one of my games since high school." Nathan chuckles "I got you in the box seats so you have a little privacy, the courtside seats get a bit rough sometimes."

"Aww, you always take such good care of me baby." Haley says sweetly, Nathan rolling his eyes at her.

"How's Peyton doing, is she taking care of my little nephew?" Nathan asks.

"It could be a girl!" Haley's muffled voice yells as she pulls off her pyjama shirt "I think she's a bit sick of being on bed rest, but she's doing the best she can."

"Uh, yeah, that's great." Nathan says, swallowing hard as Haley stands in just her bra, panties and heels.

"I'm a bit worried about Brooke though, things with Julian seem to be okay but I think the tabloids are really getting to her. I don't know that she's coping as well as she says she is."

"Uh huh." Nathan mumbled, causing Haley to look back at the computer.

"Nathan, are you even listening to me?" She scoffs.

Nathan shakes his head, cheeks reddening "I'm really trying babe, but you're going to need to put some clothes on before that can happen."

Haley looked down at her attire, her face flushing the same colour as Nathan's "Oh, sorry. Give me one second."

She moved behind the computer screen, grabbing her work skirt and blouse before heading into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. When she returned, both Nathan and Clay - his agent - were on the screen.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Clay said, nudging Nathan's shoulder with his "Look like you two have been caught."

Haley raised her eyebrow at the other man "We weren't doing anything to be caught, Clay."

"Speak for yourself. BoyToy here was stripping down for you in a _real_ hurry." Clay chuckles.

Nathan folds his arms over his bare chest "I wasn't stripping for her … At least not any more."

"I would be too if my girlfriend was walking around in her lingerie."

"Nathan!" Haley yells, glaring at her boyfriend.

"He came in just before you went to change Hales." Nathan says by way of explanation.

Haley rolls her eyes, grabbing her cardigan and purse from the reading chair near her window "I have to go, you boys behave."

"You're leaving?" Nathan whines.

"I'll see you soon baby, I promise." Haley says, blowing him a kiss "I love you."

Nathan smiles "I love you too Hales."

"And I love you too, _Hales_!" Clay yells.

"Goodbye, Clayton." Haley laughs, before ending the call.

* * *

Julian walks into his hotel room, the pitch darkness making it hard for him to locate the light switch. It's almost 3:00am, and he was absolutely exhausted. Alex had insisted they go out to a new club that had opened, to 'celebrate the movie's progress'.

He found the lights, groaning as the brightness filled the room. He kicked off his shoes and walked to his bed, pulling off his jeans and button-up as he went before flopping down onto this bed. He was exhausted.

His phone ringing in his pocket woke him up again and he reached down to pick up his jeans from the floor, pulling his phone out, frowning when he sees the unknown number.

"Hello?"

" _Julian Baker? This is Zoey Goodman with the LA 'Zine. We wanted to get a statement from you regarding your outing tonight with Alex-"_

Julian pressed the 'end call' button, not wanting to deal with this again. The tabloids had been calling him for the past few days, wanting the 'inside scoop' on his relationship with Alex and his breakup with Brooke. He had been waiting for Brooke to call him, but she hadn't called, texted or posted anything through her social media accounts. He was beginning to wonder if she believed the rumours that were being spread about him and Alex.

He checks his phone app, frowning when he sees a call from Brooke on Saturday at 7:00pm NZ time, 4:00am in North Carolina. Why was she up so early? And why had she called him? And who the hell answered the call?

He clicked her contact number, waiting as the phone rang.

" _Hey._ " Brooke said softly " _This is a surprise."_

"You called me on Saturday?" Julian says getting straight to the point.

" _Uh, yeah. There was some gossip sites saying some stuff, I just wanted to make sure you were okay._ " Brooke says " _Alex said she spoke to you about it though, so I guess you're all good, considering you didn't call back."_

He can hear the sadness in her voice and his heart aches "It wasn't like that Brooke, I didn't know you called. Alex must have forgotten to let me know."

" _Oh yeah, I'm sure._ " She muttered sarcastically.

"Sweetheart ... I thought we were over this." Julian sighs.

" _Well when my boyfriend is roaming around the country hand-in-hand with a woman that isn't me, you can see why it would be cause for concern."_ Brooke snaps.

"It didn't mean anything. She was excited about something we saw, and she grabbed my hand to drag me along. It was innocent, I swear."

" _I know._ " Brooke replies " _I just- She likes you Julian. And I don't like the way she is with you._ "

"Brooke, you have nothing to worry about. I love _you_. I don't want Alex, or anyone else. I need you to trust me, please." Julian pleads.

" _I'm trying Julian. You know that's hard for me._ " Brooke whispers.

"I know you are. And I know it takes a lot for you to trust people, and you know how much I love that you trust in me. I just need you to have a little more faith in me, in _us_."

" _I will._ " Brooke says, her voice not sounding as confident enough to ease Julian " _It's late, you need your rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow._ "

"I love you Brooke." Julian smiles tiredly.

" _... You too Julian. Goodnight._ " Brooke says before quickly hanging up.

Julian groans when she abruptly hangs up on him. He knows he hasn't done much to alleviate her worries, and he curses the people in her life that have made her so uneasy to trust in the strength of her relationship, and the love her partner has for her. He lays back in bed, staring at the ceiling as he thinks about the amazing time they had together just a few weeks ago.

 _"We stopped taking time for each other Julian, we stopped appreciating each other. We were trying to jump into marriage but I don't think either of us were ready ... We need to try to be there for one another. We can't keep letting the important things get swept under the rug like we have been."_

Julian's eyes light up as an idea hits him, opening his phone and looking through his apps until he finds what he needs. He smiles brightly as he saves everything he needed and opens up his notes app.

' _Thank goodness tomorrow is Wednesday.'_ He thinks as he beings typing.

* * *

Lucas sits outside Lindsey's office, his knee bouncing frantically. He's nervous. He hasn't seen or spoken to her for over two weeks now. She was getting frustrated with him, but he couldn't deal with her at the time. His wife and daughter were his top priority, and he still felt some blame over what had happened to them both. He was mad at Lindsey for getting Peyton so worked up in her condition, and he was mad at himself for not making sure that Lindsey would leave them alone.

The door opened and Lindsey smiled brightly as she saw him "Lucas, how nice to see you. Come in."

Lucas gave a tight smile as he walked past her assistant and into her office. The minute the door closed she turned around to face him.

"What the hell Luke!? You haven't answered any of my calls or texts in _weeks_. I've been worried." Lindsey said, walking towards him.

Lucas stepped back, distancing himself as much as he could "Maybe that's because you showed up unannounced at my house and caused my wife so much distress that she and my unborn child wound up in the hospital for three days." He snarked.

"What? Is she okay?" Lindsey asked, faux-concern dripping from her voice.

"I'm not here to discuss Peyton. I'm here to discuss my book, and then I'm going home to my family." He said sitting down at the desk and waiting for Lindsey to sit across from him on the other side.

"Lucas, come on, you can talk to me." Lindsey said standing next to the chair "I've always been here for you."

"You think I want anything to do with you after the things you said to my _wife?_ The only reason I'm even here is because _she_ convinced me it was the right thing to do for my career. So, you and I are going to sit here and discuss your comments on the chapter, or I am more than happy to ask your bosses to find me another editor. Or I could just switch publishing houses altogether."

"Luke … Don't do this. You don't know what you're saying." Lindsey said nervously.

"I know exactly what I'm doing. So either start acting like a professional or I will find somebody else."

Lindsey sat down in her chair, watching as Lucas checked his phone when it buzzed. She could tell from the look on his face that it was Peyton, probably sending him some mushy pathetic text message about her and their baby.

' _You don't see how wrong she is for you Luke.'_ she thinks.

She can tell that he's different today, and knows she shouldn't push her luck. She reaches into her drawer and gets out her notes on his three latest chapters while she waits for him to look back up.

"You ready?" He asks.

Lindsey nods "I'm sorry Luke. You're right, I need to focus on being a good editor for your book, and keep my personal feelings out of it. I would really appreciate you giving me another chance, I can't afford to lose you from my line-up, my other authors aren't doing too well. My job is kind of dependant on you." She says, hoping she can guilt him into staying.

"Good." Lucas nods "I'm willing to make this work, so long as you respect my wife and our relationship. Understood?"

"You got it." Lindsey smiles, opening up her notes to show Lucas.

' _We've got time Lucas. I'll wait as long as I have to for you.'_

* * *

"I come bearing gifts!" Haley exclaims as she walks through the front door of Lucas' family house, startling Peyton and Brooke in the process.

"Remind me to take that spare key off you, you move surprisingly quiet for a clutz." Peyton says as she and Brooke sit on the couch.

"Hey! I resent that." Haley says plopping down next to them and taking out the three containers of ice cream she'd brought with her, handing the girls each a spoon.

Brooke eyed her skeptically "Do we really each need our own ice cream tub tutorgirl? We're not that gluttonous."

"Speak for yourself. This baby is milking me for everything I'm worth." Peyton said as she began digging in to the chocolate brownie ice cream.

Brooke shrugged and opened her salted caramel flavour, Haley already digging into her mint chocolate chip "So, how's things going with Nathan."

Haley smiled "Pretty well actually. He's basically moved into my place, which I somehow only noticed today? I was looking for my black lace top and all my drawers were filled with a mix of both our stuff. I guess I didn't realise how much things were changing between us so quickly."

"Is that a bad thing?" Peyton asks.

"Not at all. I love how things are, I'm just kind of scared the other shoe is going to drop." Haley says nervously.

"Hales, no offense, but I think the shoe already dropped back when you and Nathan found out about your whole kids situation. You pushed through, and you guys are stronger than ever. Enjoy this time, don't keep looking for reasons for this relationship not to work. You both love each other too much for anything to get in the way." Brooke says bluntly.

"You're right. I know I'm being silly, there's just this part of me there's always expecting something to go wrong. But maybe for once, things are actually going well because I'm with the right person." Haley smiles "Anyways, how did your talk with Julian go?"

"I don't know." Brooke sighs "He told me it was all just a misunderstanding, and I want to believe him, but it's hard."

"Brooke, you've got to stop letting the past define your present." Peyton says "And I know that's ironic considering I'm part of the reason your past is affecting your current relationship, but if you can forgive me and Lucas for what we did, then surely you can have enough trust in Julian to know he's not going to do the same thing."

"I do trust him Peyt, it's Alex that's rubbing me the wrong way." Brooke grumbles.

"Julian won't let anything happen with Alex. He loves you way too much to risk jeopardizing what you two have." Haley adds.

Brooke groans, her head falling back "Why is love so damn hard? I just want to be married and not have to worry about this insecure, jealous bullshit anymore."

"Oh believe me, insecurities and jealousy don't get any easier with a ring on your finger." Peyton says over the ice cream in her mouth "Lucas is in New York with Lindsey and I'm over here giving myself a brain freeze to distract from my wayward thoughts about the two of them."

"I thought you guys talked this out? Lucas said you two had figured everything out." Brooke questions.

"We have, for the most part. He knows how I feel about Lindsey, it's just my own insecurities getting in the way. He confided in her during the hardest times in our marriage, she's become his confidant and he trusts her. Lucas always sees the best in people, and I just don't want her taking advantage of that."

"... Well, aren't we a fine mess ladies?" Haley laughs bitterly "I think our 'girls night in' are starting to become relationship counselling."

"Well, I'd rather go through all this bullshit with you guys than anyone else." Brooke said raising her tub to 'cheers' against the other two, the girls all giggling at their silliness.

Brooke, Peyton and Haley's phones all chimed simultaneously; their notifications for instagram popping up.

"You guys have Julian's post notifications on?" Brooke gave them a weird look.

"I have them on for all five of you." Haley said, Peyton nodding in agreement.

Brooke opened her Instagram app, tapping the notification alerting her that Julian had tagged her in a photo. The post loaded and her smile grew as she saw the photos he had selected; their first date, Brooke meeting his parents, their first Christmas together, as well a few from their trip to New Zealand, Los Angeles and his first time with her friends in North Carolina.

The first photo was her favourite. It was the two of them cuddled in bed; Brooke still fast asleep with Julian smiling down at her, her head resting in the crook of his arm which wrapped around her shoulder. The morning sunlight was breaking through the curtains in their bedroom, and it added a warm glow to the scene.

"Oh my…" She whispered, her heart warming at her boyfriend's unexpected post.

"Brooke, have you read the caption?" Haley said shocked.

Brooke scrolled down, seeing the three full paragraphs he had written underneath the photos.

 **My #WCW, everyday.**

 **Brooke. My partner, my best friend, the love of my life.  
** **I love waking up to you every morning, and the way my heart feels everytime I look down at you and it hits me that yours is the face I get to wake up to every morning for the rest of my life.  
** **I have loved you since the day I met you, doing that ridiculous dance from 'the Breakfast Club'. The priss to my stoner.**

 **Brooke, before I met you I thought my world had everything I needed to be happy, I had nothing else to compare it to. Then you walked into my life and everything changed. I realized how empty my world was without you in it, and my old life was no longer capable of making me happy.  
** **Not without you.**

 **I love everything about you, Brooke.  
** **I love the way you challenge me like no one ever has.  
** **I love the way you look at me like no one ever has.  
** **And I love the way you love me like no one ever has, and like no one else ever will.  
** **I can't imagine spending my life without you, and I cannot wait for the day we say "I do" so that I'll never have to live without you again.**

 **I can't wait to come home to you.  
All my love,**

 **Julian x**

Brooke had given up on holding in her tears, not able to contain her emotions at this point. He had made a grand declaration, a proof of his love for her. He had gone above and beyond for her, like no man ever had. He had stopped and taken the time to appreciate her, just like they had promised.

A notification popped up at the top of her screen and she smiled when she saw Julian's name.

 _ **I hope you liked your surprise. I love you**_

 _ **J x**_

Brooke opened her messages and quickly typed a response.

 _ **It was above and beyond all possible expectations. Good luck with your wedding vows now…**_

 _ **I love you too. More than words will every truly explain.**_

 _ **Brooke xo**_

"See? I told you he was one of the good ones." Peyton said wrapping her arm around her best friend, Haley reaching over to wipe Brooke's tears.

Brooke smiles wider, her nerves easing. Julian knew just how she was feeling, and he knew just how to make her feel better without even being in the same country. He showed his love for her once more, and it was what Brooke needed to realise that she had to trust him completely, or this would never work.

"One day, I'm going to marry that man." Brooke says, her voice still choked up from the happy cries she was holding in.

* * *

*July 4th, 2012*

Haley sat on the edge of her seat, her hands covering her mouth as she watched the game. The LA Lakers were up against the Boston Celtics, with 1 minute left to go in the fourth quarter, the Celtics leading by one point.

Nathan had been on fire the entire game. He had the best stats of all the games he had played this season, and Haley felt honoured to be sitting in the booth watching him play the game he loved more than anything in the world.

She was dressed in black jeans and a Lakers jersey with Nathan's name and number on the back, much to her boyfriend's delight. " _That name looks sexy on you Haley James."_

It had been an innocent, teasing comment made as they left the house earlier that evening, but Haley still had butterflies in her stomach since he had said it. The thought of one day becoming Nathan's wife made her happier than she thought it would.

The Lakers coach had called a time-out, which was almost over, and Haley watched in anticipation as the game started back up, Nathan getting into position across from his opponent.

The last minute flew by. Nathan was double-guarded at the top of the ring with twenty seconds remaining. He passed to his teammate on the right, running backwards before circling around his player and calling for the ball.

Haley watched as the ball flew into the air, Nathan catching it seamlessly in the air as he charged towards the hoop. Ten seconds.

Nathan flew down the court, his defender not able to keep up after Nathan's surprise move. Five seconds.

The crowd began chanting his name, and Haley stood in excitement as she watched Nathan run into the circle, a few feet from the hoop.

Three.

Nathan felt his body surge with adrenaline, the need to win this game for his teammates overpowering any other feeling in his body.

Two.

He dribbled the ball, once, twice, before jumping up and slamming the ball into the hoop.

Haley chanted his name along with the crowd, jumping up and down as she yelled words of encouragement to Nathan as he jumped up to score the final point.

One.

The sound of the buzzer was an instant relief, but what happened next no one saw coming. The player charged into his side, a last-second attempt to prevent Nathan from scoring. His body collided with Nathan's, the two men falling to the floor.

All that could be heard was Nathan's pained scream as he hit the hardwood floors, knee first.

Haley watched in shock as he lay on his side, clutching his leg in pain as his teammates surrounded him.

She jumped out of her seat, rushing through the crowd as quickly as she could. Security stopped her as she tried to get into the courtside seating area, but she quickly flashed them her access pass and pushed through. She rushed out onto the floor, squeezing between the broad-built players that formed a barricade between her and her boyfriend.

"Nathan!" She screamed as she pushed through, panic setting in.

"Hales." His voice was soft and fragile, and Haley's heart sank further.

She dropped down to his side, holding his hand as his scared eyes met hers "Haley, it hurts. It hurts so fucking bad."

"I know baby, it's okay. We're going to get you some help." She whispered, their faces a few milimetres apart as he closed his eyes, squeezing her hand tighter.

The medic arrives a few moments later. He remove Nathan's hands from his knee, Haley holding back the cry that threatens to fall when she sees his swollen knee, dislodged and quickly turning a shade of purple that makes her feel ill.

"We need to get him to the hospital. Now." The medic urges.

"I can't lose it Hales, I can't lose the game." He says softly, frightened.

"I know Nathan. It's going to be okay." She says as they move him onto a stretcher, his hand not letting go of hers the entire time.

Haley walked beside Nathan as they led him out of the arena, thousands of fans watching, fear on their faces for the future of their team, and Nathan's career.

And just like that, the other shoe had dropped.

 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems like a bit of a mess, but I wanted to get it out to you ASAP. It's almost midnight and I have an exam to study for but instead I'm here writing this for you, I hope it was worth it!**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you thought x**

 **\- Maddie :)**


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